Last week, the European Commission published a set of new policies, including the Democracy Shield and Civil Society Strategy. While they set an important framework and vision, do they counteract the slow but insidious destruction of democracy from within? While much of the rationale, particularly for the Democracy Shield, is to protect the Union from outside attacks, failing to maintain strong internal democratic standards within the EU leaves us vulnerable to exactly the kind of foreign interference that is feared. This is seen in three areas:

Firstly, failing to deploy the rule of law toolbox to its maximum capacity allows Member States to undermine the Union and the values on which it is founded. The rule of law violations by countries like Hungary, Slovakia and Italy are well documented by civil society and in the Commission’s own annual Rule of Law Report. However, recommendations are repeated annually with no consequences for non-implementation.

In 2025, Liberties found that 93% of recommendations were repeated from previous years. The Article 7 process, which could potentially lead to a vote to suspend Hungary’s voting rights, has rumbled on since 2018 with no progress. And while the Commission has initiated and won some important cases before the European Court of Justice, a more concerted litigation strategy could have been deployed. People expect the EU to hold the Member States to account, and delayed, minimal action undermines trust in the Union and in democracy.

Secondly, the EU’s own law-making process has been hijacked with alarming speed. It started with excuses to avoid carrying out impact assessments (see already in 2016) and has led to the regular use of exceptional measures to adopt laws. Under the guise of simplification, the Commission has proposed six Omnibus packages in 2025 alone, and more are expected. New impact assessments were not carried out, and there was minimal consultation.

And, in the case of the Corporate Sustainable Due Diligence Directive, for example, the Directive had only been in force for a matter of months before a simplification package was proposed.

So while the Commission may cite participatory lawmaking enshrined in Article 11 of the Treaty of the EU and proposes more platforms and consultative processes, at the same time, the very foundations of EU lawmaking are being set aside. Omnibus laws have become regular and normalised, and while the EU’s rule of law report criticises Member States for using fast-track emergency procedures, the same is happening within the EU.

Thirdly, civil society organisations are under increasing threat. A well-orchestrated campaign against civil society has been organised in the European Parliament, with a particular focus on advocacy that holds institutions to account. Despite the European Court of Auditors finding that EU funding to NGOs is transparent, lawful and aligned with EU policy objectives, a group of parliamentarians still decided to set up a working group to scrutinise NGO funding.

The EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency carries out an annual survey on civic space and in the latest report, 70% of the participating organisations reported a (great) deterioration at the EU level compared to the previous year. Reports of harassment and attacks against individuals and organisations have increased annually. Yet one of the most anticipated and concrete elements of the new Civil Society Strategy, the creation of a Protection Mechanism for Civil Society in the EU, was pushed down the line.

These steps were documented in the Liberties 2025 Rule of Law Report, published in March 2025, but the trends have only deepened and warrant serious attention. A strategy should indicate a different way of doing things: an ambition to set out a new direction. Instead, these documents provide good frameworks but follow the EU’s well-trodden path of expanding the toolbox but failing to make real change. If the EU continues to follow its same recipe, European democracy will crumble from within. 

Further resources:

EU Civil Society Strategy: Strong On Rhetoric, Soft On Action