# Political Guidelines 2024-29 Canonical URL: https://digital-acquis.eu/strategy/political-guidelines-2024-29 Entry type: strategy Source edition current through: 17 July 2026 (2026-07-17). This is not a page modification date. Status: not recorded. A delivered initiative is not necessarily legislation in force. Document type: Strategic Document (Commission) Release date: 2024-07-18 ## Summary The Political Guidelines link European competitiveness with industrial renewal, digital innovation and simpler rules for businesses. They propose support for AI, data sharing, biotechnology and strategic investment, alongside cleaner energy, circular production and changes to public procurement. A Union of Skills would connect education, training and recognition of qualifications across borders. The programme also covers hospital cybersecurity, protection against online manipulation and harmful platform design, and measures to improve working conditions. International partnerships and economic security form part of this agenda, while institutional reforms and stronger cooperation on lawmaking are intended to support its implementation. ## Sources - [Official source]() ## Action items (24; complete published list) ### 1. Action item 30001 They will work with a Vice-President for Implementation, Simplification and Interinstitutional Relations to stress-test the entire EU acquis. On this basis, we will make proposals to simplify, consolidate and codify legislation to eliminate any overlaps and contradictions while maintaining high standards. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 1. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 2. Action item 30003 To support this, I will propose a new EU-wide legal status to help innovative companies grow. This will take the form of a so-called 28th regime to allow companies to benefit from a simpler, harmonised set of rules in certain areas. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 3. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 3. Action item 30004 We will introduce a new category of small midcaps and assess where existing regulation applying to large companies is too burdensome, disproportionate or a hindrance to their competitive development. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 4. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 4. Action item 30005 In this spirit I will propose to renew Interinstitutional agreement on simplification and better law making that each institution assesses the impact and cost of its amendments in the same way. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 5. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 5. Action item 30007 We will put forward an Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act to support industries and companies through the transition. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 7. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 6. Action item 30008 We will continue to bring down energy prices by moving further away from fossil fuels, reinforcing joint procurement for fuels, and developing the governance needed for a true Energy Union. We will scale-up and prioritise investment in clean energy infrastructure and technologies. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 8. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 7. Action item 30009 We will work on new Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships to help secure supply of raw materials, clean energy and clean tech from across the world. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 9. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 8. Action item 30011 To this end we will propose a Single Digital Booking and Ticketing Regulation, to ensure that Europeans can buy one single ticket on one single platform and get passengers’ rights for their whole trip. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 11. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 9. Action item 30013 This will be the purpose of a new Circular Economy Act, helping to create market demand for secondary materials and a single market for waste, notably in relation to critical raw materials. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 13. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 10. Action item 30015 We must also do more to protect the security of our health systems, which are increasingly the target of cyber and ransomware attacks. To improve threat detection, preparedness and crisis response, I will propose a European action plan on the cybersecurity of hospitals and healthcare providers in the first 100 days of the mandate. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 15. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 11. Action item 30017 We must now focus our efforts on becoming a global leader in AI innovation. In the first 100 days, we will ensure access to new, tailored supercomputing capacity for AI start-ups and industry through an AI Factories initiative. We will also develop with Member States, industry and civil society an Apply AI Strategy to boost new industrial uses of AI and to improve the delivery of a variety of public services, such as healthcare. In this spirit, I will propose to set up a European AI Research Council where we can pool all of our resources, similar to the approach taken with CERN. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 17. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 12. Action item 30019 This is why we will put forward a Europea Data Union Strategy. This will draw on existing data rules to ensure a simplified, clear and coherent legal framework for businesses and administrations to share data seamlessly and at scale, while respecting high privacy and security standards. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 19. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 13. Action item 30020 To do this, we will expand the European Research Council and the European Innovation Council. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 20. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 14. Action item 30022 In order to make it easier to bring biotech from the laboratory to factory and then onto the market we will propose a new European Biotech Act in 2025. This will be part of a broader Strategy for European Life Sciences to look at how we can support our green and digital transitions and develop high-value technologies. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 22. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 15. Action item 30024 I will propose a revision of the Public Procurement Directive. This will enable preference to be given to European products in public procurement for certain strategic sectors. It will help ensure EU added value for our citizens, along with security of supply for vital technologies, products and services. It will also modernise and simplify our public procurement rules, in particular with EU start-ups and innovators in mind. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 24. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 16. Action item 30026 This is why I will put forward a new European Competitiveness Fund as part of our proposal for a new and reinforced budget in the next multiannual financial framework. This investment capacity will invest in strategic technologies – from AI to space, clean tech to biotech - to ensure that we develop strategic technologies and manufacture them here in Europe. And it will ensure that we use the power of our budget to leverage and de-risk private investment in our common goals. The European Competitiveness Fund will support Important Projects of Common Interest (IPCEIs) so that Europe can use its collective strength to invest together in ambitious common projects – as has already been done on a smaller scale with batteries, hydrogen and microelectronics. I will make IPCEIs simpler and faster to get financed and off the ground. The first new set of common projects will be proposed in early 2025. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 26. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 17. Action item 30028 To do so, we will establish a Union of Skills – focusing on investment, adult and lifelong learning, skill retention and the recognition of different types of training to enable people to work across our Union. Central to this will be embedding lifelong learning into education and careers and supporting the training and the career prospects of teachers. We will focus on improving basic skills and propose a STEM Education Strategic Plan. This will aim to address the worrying decline in performance and the lack of qualified teachers in areas linked to science, technology, engineering and maths. It should also bring more girls and women into STEM education and careers. It is also important to give vocational education and training (VET) the prominence it deserves. It prepares people for work and gives them the skills that companies are looking for. This is why I will propose a European Strategy for Vocational Education and Training, notably to boost the number of people with a secondary VET degree. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 28. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 18. Action item 30030 We need to make sure that we benefit from all high-quality skills irrespective of where and how they were acquired. This is why we will continue to work towards a European Degree and will put forward a Skills Portability Initiative to ensure a skill acquired in one country is recognised in another. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 30. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 19. Action item 30032 We will make the EU the most advanced travel destination in the world, with a fully functional European digital border management. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 32. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 20. Action item 30034 This is why I will propose a new European Democracy Shield. As part of this, we will work to counter foreign information manipulation and interference online, building on the examples of Viginum in France or the Swedish Psychological Defence Agency. The aim is to increase situational awareness, by detecting, analysing and proactively countering disinformation and information manipulation. We will focus on societal resilience and preparedness, through increased digital and media literacy and boosting prevention through pre-bunking. We will create a European network of fact-checkers and make it available in all languages. We will also continue to step up digital enforcement to ensure that manipulated or misleading information is detected, flagged and, where appropriate, removed in line with the Digital Services Act. Finally, we will also address the ever-more realistic deepfakes that have impacted elections across Europe. We will ensure that transparency requirements in the AI Act are implemented and that we strengthen our approach to AI-produced content. In protecting our democracy, we will always respect our enduring commitment to preserving and promoting free speech. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 34. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 21. Action item 30036 This is why I will put forward a Quality Jobs Roadmap, developed together with the social partners. It will support fair wages, good working conditions, training and fair job transitions for workers and self-employed people, notably by increasing collective bargaining coverage. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 36. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 22. Action item 30038 We will tackle unethical techniques used by online platforms by taking action on the addictive design of online services, such as infinite scroll, default auto play or constant push. We will also firmly combat the growing trend of abusive behaviour online with an action plan against cyberbullying. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 38. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 23. Action item 30040 At the same time, we must be more assertive in protecting our economy from key technology leakage and security concerns. This issue is particularly acute when dealing with those who are also strategic competitors and systemic rivals. This will be based on a clear-eyed risk assessment and our principle of ‘de-risking not decoupling’. The third strand of our economic foreign policy is partnerships and investing together in our interests and our partners through Global Gateway, our initiative to invest in infrastructure projects worldwide. We will take Global Gateway to the next level by proposing an integrated offer to our partners – with infrastructure investment, trade, macro-economic support part of the package. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 40. Digital dimension: not recorded. ### 24. Action item 30042 I believe we need an ambitious reform agenda to ensure the proper functioning of a larger Union, to ensure we are equipped to tackle our geopolitical challenges and to improve democratic legitimacy, notably through citizens’ participation. This includes continuing to follow up on the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe. I believe we need Treaty change where it can improve our Union. Provenance: source document doc-002, paragraph 42. Digital dimension: not recorded. ## Referenced entries - [Quality Jobs Roadmap]() — status: not recorded. Source document doc-002, action item 30036: > This is why I will put forward a Quality Jobs Roadmap, developed together with the social partners. It will support fair wages, good working conditions, training and fair job transitions for workers and self-employed people, notably by increasing collective bargaining coverage. - [Life Sciences Strategy]() — status: delivered. The Life Sciences Strategy addresses fragmented funding and innovation systems, regulatory complexity and slow market uptake. Its actions include the Biotech Act, coordinated work on new biomedical research methods, a research and innovation agenda for food systems, and a data assembly for cross-regulatory cooperation. The Commission presents these measures as support for innovation, economic growth and job creation in European life sciences. Source document doc-002, action item 30022: > In order to make it easier to bring biotech from the laboratory to factory and then onto the market we will propose a new European Biotech Act in 2025. This will be part of a broader Strategy for European Life Sciences to look at how we can support our green and digital transitions and develop high-value technologies. - [RAISE – European AI Research Council]() — status: not recorded. RAISE has entered a pilot phase as the Resource for Artificial Intelligence Science in Europe. The European Commission and the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU organised the European AI in Science Summit in Copenhagen, where Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen and Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva announced its launch. Source document doc-002, action item 30017: > We must now focus our efforts on becoming a global leader in AI innovation. In the first 100 days, we will ensure access to new, tailored supercomputing capacity for AI start-ups and industry through an AI Factories initiative. We will also develop with Member States, industry and civil society an Apply AI Strategy to boost new industrial uses of AI and to improve the delivery of a variety of public services, such as healthcare. In this spirit, I will propose to set up a European AI Research Council where we can pool all of our resources, similar to the approach taken with CERN. - [AI Factories]() — status: not recorded. Open, EU-wide hubs built around EuroHPC supercomputers that bundle AI-optimised compute, data storage, programming support and talent to develop frontier models and applications. Startups, SMEs, researchers and public bodies get streamlined one-stop access to computing time, data labs linked to Common European Data Spaces, and services for testing, validation and skills—cutting training from months to weeks and lowering costs. The first 13 Factories across 17 Member States are networked, with AI Factory Antennas extending reach. EuroHPC will provide a single entry point and procure AI-dedicated systems in 2025/26, tripling Europe’s available AI capacity. Source document doc-002, action item 30017: > We must now focus our efforts on becoming a global leader in AI innovation. In the first 100 days, we will ensure access to new, tailored supercomputing capacity for AI start-ups and industry through an AI Factories initiative. We will also develop with Member States, industry and civil society an Apply AI Strategy to boost new industrial uses of AI and to improve the delivery of a variety of public services, such as healthcare. In this spirit, I will propose to set up a European AI Research Council where we can pool all of our resources, similar to the approach taken with CERN. - [Apply AI Strategy]() — status: delivered. The Strategy adopts an “AI-first” approach to accelerate adoption across flagship sectors (including health, robotics, manufacturing, defence/space, mobility, telecoms, energy, environment, agri-food, and culture/media) backed by around €1 billion from EU programmes to catalyse deployment. It tackles cross-cutting barriers by turning EDIHs into AI Experience Centres for SMEs, building frontier capabilities via a new Frontier AI initiative, and providing clear, practical support for AI Act compliance through guidance and a Service Desk. Governance is unified through an Apply AI Alliance and an AI Observatory to set KPIs and monitor impact, complemented by the AI in Science and Data Union strategies. Source document doc-002, action item 30017: > We must now focus our efforts on becoming a global leader in AI innovation. In the first 100 days, we will ensure access to new, tailored supercomputing capacity for AI start-ups and industry through an AI Factories initiative. We will also develop with Member States, industry and civil society an Apply AI Strategy to boost new industrial uses of AI and to improve the delivery of a variety of public services, such as healthcare. In this spirit, I will propose to set up a European AI Research Council where we can pool all of our resources, similar to the approach taken with CERN. - [European Data Union Strategy]() — status: delivered. The strategy will establish a simpler, coherent EU framework for secure, large-scale data sharing between businesses and public administrations to power AI. It will align and streamline existing rules and practices, strengthen cross-border interoperability, and embed robust safeguards for confidentiality, integrity, security and IP. Concretely, it will: promote common technical and semantic standards (e.g. schemas, metadata, APIs); enable trusted data intermediaries and data-pooling mechanisms; expand access via privacy-preserving methods (e.g. anonymisation, synthetic data, secure processing); and clarify fair, transparent licensing for B2B and public-private data use. Closely linked to AI Factories, new Data Labs will federate sectoral datasets and connect to Common European Data Spaces to unlock high-quality training data at scale. Source document doc-002, action item 30019: > This is why we will put forward a Europea Data Union Strategy. This will draw on existing data rules to ensure a simplified, clear and coherent legal framework for businesses and administrations to share data seamlessly and at scale, while respecting high privacy and security standards. - [European Competitiveness Fund (ECF)]() — status: in progress. The EU’s investment engine for 2028–2034 will consolidate 14 programmes under a single rulebook and access point to back projects from research to scale-up, deployment and manufacturing. It will operate through four policy windows—clean transition, digital leadership, health/biotech/bioeconomy, and resilience/security/defence/space—and mobilise the full EU financial toolbox, including an ECF InvestEU instrument, alongside project advisory and SME services. The Fund’s indicative envelope is €234.3 billion, with Horizon Europe tightly connected for a seamless journey from idea to market. Overall, the ECF de-risks private capital, cuts fragmentation, and accelerates high-impact investments with EU value added. Source document doc-002, action item 30026: > This is why I will put forward a new European Competitiveness Fund as part of our proposal for a new and reinforced budget in the next multiannual financial framework. This investment capacity will invest in strategic technologies – from AI to space, clean tech to biotech - to ensure that we develop strategic technologies and manufacture them here in Europe. And it will ensure that we use the power of our budget to leverage and de-risk private investment in our common goals. The European Competitiveness Fund will support Important Projects of Common Interest (IPCEIs) so that Europe can use its collective strength to invest together in ambitious common projects – as has already been done on a smaller scale with batteries, hydrogen and microelectronics. I will make IPCEIs simpler and faster to get financed and off the ground. The first new set of common projects will be proposed in early 2025. - [European Strategy for VET]() — status: forthcoming. The Strategy upgrades VET into a first-choice pathway for competitiveness, cohesion and generational renewal. It tackles skills shortages by modernising curricula with employers, expanding work-based learning, and boosting mobility and internationalisation (via Erasmus+ and a pilot European VET diploma/label in 2025–26). It raises excellence and inclusiveness, combats gender stereotypes, and sets a 2030 STEM target: at least 45% of initial medium-level VET enrolment, with one in four women. Centres of Vocational Excellence will scale transnational partnerships and drive national reforms, while recognition frameworks ease cross-border learning and careers, making VET as valued as higher education across the Union. Source document doc-002, action item 30028: > To do so, we will establish a Union of Skills – focusing on investment, adult and lifelong learning, skill retention and the recognition of different types of training to enable people to work across our Union. Central to this will be embedding lifelong learning into education and careers and supporting the training and the career prospects of teachers. We will focus on improving basic skills and propose a STEM Education Strategic Plan. This will aim to address the worrying decline in performance and the lack of qualified teachers in areas linked to science, technology, engineering and maths. It should also bring more girls and women into STEM education and careers. It is also important to give vocational education and training (VET) the prominence it deserves. It prepares people for work and gives them the skills that companies are looking for. This is why I will propose a European Strategy for Vocational Education and Training, notably to boost the number of people with a secondary VET degree. - [Skills Portability Initiative (SPI)]() — status: forthcoming. The initiative will remove barriers to cross-border work by making skills and qualifications usable across the Single Market. It will consider a legislative proposal to ease mobility and promote common EU formats for interoperable digital credentials, building on EQF, Europass and ESCO. Recognition in regulated professions will be expanded and modernised using digital tools, while simpler common rules will be explored to recognise third-country nationals’ skills. In parallel, the EU will develop a framework for automatic recognition of qualifications and learning periods in school, VET and higher education, and examine accession to the Lisbon Recognition Convention. Source document doc-002, action item 30030: > We need to make sure that we benefit from all high-quality skills irrespective of where and how they were acquired. This is why we will continue to work towards a European Degree and will put forward a Skills Portability Initiative to ensure a skill acquired in one country is recognised in another. - [STEM Education Strategic Plan]() — status: delivered. The EU will reverse declining STEM performance and close talent gaps by 2030 through enrolment targets (45% of initial VET in STEM, 32% tertiary, and 5% ICT PhDs) with gender goals (≥25% women in VET, 40% tertiary, 33% ICT PhDs). It will modernise curricula via a STEM competence framework, pilot STEM education centres, and launch Advanced Digital Skills Competitions. Universities and Centres of Vocational Excellence will offer joint programmes and micro-credentials aligned with industry, moving toward a European degree for engineers. A Teachers & Trainers Agenda and actions under the Union of Skills will boost capacity and attractiveness. Source document doc-002, action item 30028: > To do so, we will establish a Union of Skills – focusing on investment, adult and lifelong learning, skill retention and the recognition of different types of training to enable people to work across our Union. Central to this will be embedding lifelong learning into education and careers and supporting the training and the career prospects of teachers. We will focus on improving basic skills and propose a STEM Education Strategic Plan. This will aim to address the worrying decline in performance and the lack of qualified teachers in areas linked to science, technology, engineering and maths. It should also bring more girls and women into STEM education and careers. It is also important to give vocational education and training (VET) the prominence it deserves. It prepares people for work and gives them the skills that companies are looking for. This is why I will propose a European Strategy for Vocational Education and Training, notably to boost the number of people with a secondary VET degree. - [Union of Skills]() — status: delivered. Union of Skills measures span basic education, digital learning, science and technology education, vocational training, higher education and labour-market mobility. The programme lists action on basic skills, a Skills Guarantee, skills academies, university-business partnerships, portability and recognition of qualifications, a European degree or label, and talent attraction. Its timetable includes pilots, strategies, frameworks and legal arrangements. Source document doc-002, action item 30028: > To do so, we will establish a Union of Skills – focusing on investment, adult and lifelong learning, skill retention and the recognition of different types of training to enable people to work across our Union. Central to this will be embedding lifelong learning into education and careers and supporting the training and the career prospects of teachers. We will focus on improving basic skills and propose a STEM Education Strategic Plan. This will aim to address the worrying decline in performance and the lack of qualified teachers in areas linked to science, technology, engineering and maths. It should also bring more girls and women into STEM education and careers. It is also important to give vocational education and training (VET) the prominence it deserves. It prepares people for work and gives them the skills that companies are looking for. This is why I will propose a European Strategy for Vocational Education and Training, notably to boost the number of people with a secondary VET degree. - [Action Plan against Cyberbullying]() — status: delivered. The Commission will present a comprehensive EU approach to prevent, detect and respond to cyberbullying, with a primary focus on minors and youth. It will set a common EU definition, promote national strategies and focal points (e.g. trusted flaggers), and prioritise vulnerable groups including girls and women, LGBTIQ youth, migrants and persons with disabilities. Actions span prevention and digital well-being, safer product design, streamlined reporting and takedown (scaling good practices like France’s App 3018), victim support, and proportionate responses to perpetrators. Delivery will leverage and enforce the DSA, BIK+ and victims/VAW directives, with progress monitored through Safer Internet Centres, BIK policy reports and DSA enforcement. Source document doc-002, action item 30038: > We will tackle unethical techniques used by online platforms by taking action on the addictive design of online services, such as infinite scroll, default auto play or constant push. We will also firmly combat the growing trend of abusive behaviour online with an action plan against cyberbullying. - [Circular Economy Act (CEA)]() — status: forthcoming. The Act will create a true Single Market for waste and secondary raw materials, boosting supply and demand for quality recyclates at competitive prices. It will harmonise end-of-waste criteria, simplify and expand extended producer responsibility (including a one-stop producer registry), and revise e-waste rules to recover critical materials, while aligning with the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products framework. Public procurement criteria, incentives for scrap use, and digitalised demolition permits will accelerate circular design and recycling. Strong enforcement—including for e-commerce channels—will ensure compliance. Source document doc-002, action item 30013: > This will be the purpose of a new Circular Economy Act, helping to create market demand for secondary materials and a single market for waste, notably in relation to critical raw materials. - [EU Inc. – 28th Regime]() — status: in progress. It will create an optional, EU-wide corporate framework—digital by default—to let innovative firms set up, operate, and raise capital seamlessly across borders. The proposal may rely on TFEU Article 352 or a harmonised national form via Articles 50/114, with a progressive, modular design. It targets 48-hour incorporation and “once-only” data sharing via BRIS, EUID, and an EU Company Certificate, leveraging the European Business Wallet. Investment-friendly options under consideration include simpler capital increases, flexible share classes, and standard private-equity terms. Complementing the European Innovation Act, it cuts failure costs, fragmentation, and compliance burdens. Source document doc-002, action item 30003: > To support this, I will propose a new EU-wide legal status to help innovative companies grow. This will take the form of a so-called 28th regime to allow companies to benefit from a simpler, harmonised set of rules in certain areas. - [Single Digital Booking and Ticketing]() — status: in progress. The Commission will propose an EU framework enabling passengers to buy a single ticket for cross-border rail journeys across multiple operators, with passengers’ rights applying across the whole trip. It will mandate interoperable data and open, non-discriminatory APIs for schedules, fares and reservation systems; ensure through-ticketing, real-time disruption information and seamless refunds/re-routing; and set governance for liability, revenue settlement and dispute resolution. The initiative complements paperless mobility actions and aims to make rail a convenient, default choice for long-distance travel while boosting tourism and Single Market integration. Source document doc-002, action item 30011: > To this end we will propose a Single Digital Booking and Ticketing Regulation, to ensure that Europeans can buy one single ticket on one single platform and get passengers’ rights for their whole trip. - [Action Plan on the Cybersecurity of Hospitals and Healthcare Providers]() — status: delivered. Healthcare cybersecurity action is centred on a European Cybersecurity Support Centre, sector-specific guidance, maturity assessment and incident-response support. Planned measures include a rapid-response service in the EU Cybersecurity Reserve, a Health Cybersecurity Advisory Board, a network of health CISOs, cyber exercises and a ransomware recovery subscription service. The plan also covers cyber hygiene, threat intelligence, procurement guidance, training, regulatory mapping and international cooperation. Source document doc-002, action item 30015: > We must also do more to protect the security of our health systems, which are increasingly the target of cyber and ransomware attacks. To improve threat detection, preparedness and crisis response, I will propose a European action plan on the cybersecurity of hospitals and healthcare providers in the first 100 days of the mandate. - [European Democracy Shield]() — status: delivered. It will harden democratic resilience by combining early detection of foreign information manipulation, coordinated analysis and rapid response across the Union. A new European Centre for Democratic Resilience will pool national expertise and capacities as the hub for monitoring, attribution and joint action with partners. The Shield will leverage the EU’s FIMI toolbox and the Digital Services Act, expand media- and digital-literacy efforts, and strengthen crisis communication to counter disinformation systematically. It complements a forthcoming Media Resilience Programme supporting independent journalism, and is anchored in upgrades to EU internal-security governance. Work will also address harmful social-media design and youth well-being through expert advice on safeguards and enforcement. Source document doc-002, action item 30034: > This is why I will propose a new European Democracy Shield. As part of this, we will work to counter foreign information manipulation and interference online, building on the examples of Viginum in France or the Swedish Psychological Defence Agency. The aim is to increase situational awareness, by detecting, analysing and proactively countering disinformation and information manipulation. We will focus on societal resilience and preparedness, through increased digital and media literacy and boosting prevention through pre-bunking. We will create a European network of fact-checkers and make it available in all languages. We will also continue to step up digital enforcement to ensure that manipulated or misleading information is detected, flagged and, where appropriate, removed in line with the Digital Services Act. Finally, we will also address the ever-more realistic deepfakes that have impacted elections across Europe. We will ensure that transparency requirements in the AI Act are implemented and that we strengthen our approach to AI-produced content. In protecting our democracy, we will always respect our enduring commitment to preserving and promoting free speech. ## Current developments Latest updates from Digital Policy Alert and Global Trade Alert. No reviewed developments available; this does not establish that no developments exist. --- [Reading guide and interpretation notes]() · [Methodology]()