EU external democracy action in focus as State Secretary Diana Janse attends report launch in Brussels

“Defending democracy and the rule of law is one of Sweden’s priorities for its Presidency. At a time of global democratic backsliding and threats from authoritarian states such as Russia, it is of the utmost importance that the EU is a strong actor for democracy – not only internally, but towards the rest of the world,” says State Secretary Janse.

IDEA’s report analyses the EU’s ability to strengthen its external democracy action. It was written in light of the difficult challenges to democracy in recent years, but also against the background that the EU was founded on democratic values, is a strong global voice for democracy and a large donor of international democracy support. In its report, IDEA recommends that the EU give greater prominence to democracy’s positive political and socio-economic outcomes in its democracy promotion efforts. The authors also recommend strengthening efforts to include civil society in the design of EU democracy policy.

“The report can be an important contribution to discussions on how the EU can strengthen its work for democracy in foreign and development policy,” says State Secretary Janse.

Recommendations report and policy brief  - IDEA's webiste