Regional Conference on Money in Politics 2025 Money, Security & Democracy: Defending Electoral Integrity in the Digital Age
In the current geopolitical climate, democracies in Eastern Europe face increasing threats to democratic institutions through opaque political financing, third-party influence, and hybrid interference strategies. As elections in the region become key targets for manipulation, safeguarding electoral integrity requires integrated approaches that uphold fundamental rights and liberties, while ensuring that online media and networks, and digital financial technologies are adequately regulated.
The 2025 edition of the Money in Politics conference, Money, Security & Democracy: Defending Electoral Resilience in the Digital Age, offers a platform for peer exchange and strategic dialogue at the intersection of political finance, electoral security, and digital resilience. This year’s edition will delve deep into the risks related to online electoral campaigns, illicit financing of politics in the online space, foreign interference, use of cryptocurrencies, vote buying, and disinformation. Recent electoral cycles across the region have illustrated both the power and the pitfalls of digital political finance. In many cases, official candidates were outspent by unregistered actors, disinformation was amplified through coordinated online campaigns, and reporting mechanisms failed to capture the true scale of spending. These developments highlight the urgent need for more adaptive and comprehensive regulatory approaches.
In this context, the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), Digital Markets Act (DMA), and the Regulation on the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TPA) provide forward-looking frameworks that promote greater transparency, accountability, and integrity in the digital campaign space. For Eastern European countries with aspirations of joining the EU, these regulations have already become part of the acquis communautaire—mandatory standards that must be transposed into national legislation and regulatory practice. However, full enforcement mechanisms will only come into effect after accession. This creates an urgent need to develop and implement effective interim solutions that can mitigate current risks and strengthen electoral integrity. Enhanced cross-border cooperation, smarter use of data tools, and stronger civil society oversight must complement legal and regulatory reforms.
The two-day event will take place on 8–9 July 2025 in Chișinău, Republic of Moldova, at the Urban Business Center, and is hosted by the Central Electoral Commission of Moldova, together with a set of international assistance providers such as International IDEA, UNDP, the Council of Europe, IFES, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy and International Republican Institute.
The 2025 edition will provide a platform for peer exchange and strategic dialogue, aimed at confronting digital-era challenges and advancing a shared agenda for transparency, integrity, and electoral resilience. By bringing together key actors from across Eastern Europe, the conference will support the identification of stronger safeguards, smarter oversight, and more coordinated responses to the growing threats facing democracies in the region and beyond.
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Event minutes & recordings
Agenda items
9:30 – 10:30 | Keynote remarks: Political Finance in an Age of Hybrid Threats
The speakers will examine the rising influence of money in politics amid geopolitical tensions, hybrid warfare, and foreign interference. Their remarks will lay the groundwork for thematic discussions on how political finance is exploited to undermine democracies across the region—and how these threats can be countered through stronger democratic oversight and regulation.
Speakers:
- Angelica Caraman, Chairperson, Central Electoral Commission of Moldova (Moderator)
- Máté Csicsai, Deputy Head of Mission, EU Delegation to Chisinau, Moldova
- Sunny Ahmed, Development Director, Moldova and the Eastern Neighbourhood, British Embassy
- Sam van der Staak, Director for Europe, International IDEA
- Dorin Recean, Prime Minister of Moldova
- Falk Lange, head of the Council of Europe in Chisinau
11:00 – 12:30 | Session 1 – Cross-Border Influence: Third-Party Actors and Foreign Interference in Campaign Finance
This thematic discussion will explore how both domestic and foreign actors shape campaigns and public narratives through financial means, often via opaque funding channels, third-party intermediaries, and covert alliances. While foreign interference remains a serious concern, domestic political financiers, including businesses, media owners, and aligned actors, frequently enable and amplify undue influence. The session will examine both legal and covert tactics used to sway voter behavior and political agendas, highlighting how blurred boundaries between legitimate support and illicit financing erode public trust. Speakers will seek to distinguish between lawful political engagement and influence operations—whether domestic or foreign—that threaten democratic integrity. The discussion will also assess the resilience of democratic systems to these threats, emphasizing the urgent need for transparency in campaign finance, clarity of campaign messaging, and greater public accountability.
Speakers:
- Pavel Postica, Vice President of the Central Election Commission of Moldova
- Diane Duggan, Head of Legal, Electoral Commission of Ireland
- Andrii Yevstihnieiev, Member of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine
- Pete Mills, Regulation Guidance Manager, UK Electoral Commission
- Veronika Bilkova, Vice-President of the Venice Commission and member in respect of Czechia, CoE
Moderator: Mr Alexander Shlyk, UNDP
14:00 – 15:30 | Session 2 – Escaping Oversight: Strengthening Oversight of Digital Campaigning for Transparency and Trust
This session will explore the challenges of voter manipulation and financial coercion, with a particular focus on the evolving landscape of digital campaign finance. It will examine how EMBs can strengthen transparency and accountability in online political advertising amidst growing foreign interference and the rise of cryptocurrencies. Discussions will address the relevance of EU regulatory frameworks, such as the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Regulation on Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TPAs), and the region. Several country examples will illustrate practical challenges, while the session will also highlight tools and methods for improving oversight through cooperation between EMBs, online platforms, and civil society.
Speakers:
- Lina Petroniene, Chair, Central Election Commission of Lithuania (TBC)
- Dr Sam Power, IFES Expert, Lecturer in Politics, University of Bristol
- Ajay Patel, United Nations Development Programme
- Vladimir Misev, Senior election expert, Council of Europe
- Khushbu Agrawal, Advisor, International IDEA
Moderator: Skye Christensen, Chief Technical Advisor, UNDP
16:00 – 17:30 | Session 3 – Beyond Cash: From Crowdfunding to Crypto: Navigating Digital Political Finance
This session will examine the evolving landscape of online financial transactions in electoral campaigns, highlighting both the opportunities and the risks associated with digital fundraising tools, including the use of cryptocurrencies. Panelists will explore how transparency can be strengthened in this field, particularly in light of the European Union’s adoption of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, its transposition into national legal frameworks, and the potential pathways for regulating the cryptocurrency market in the Eastern European context.
Speakers:
- Roman Porubin, Prosecutor, Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office
- Yves-Marie Doublet, Expert of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), Council of Europe
- Benjami Laepple, expert
- Victor Tănase, Expert, IRI Moldova
- Septimius Parvu, Expert Forum Romania
Moderator: Alberto Fernandez Gibaja, Head of Programme, Digitalisation and Democracy, International IDEA
Agenda items
9:30 – 11:00 | Session 4 – Banks, Regulators, and Electoral Bodies: Building a Regional Shield Against Illicit Funding
While EMBs or specialized bodies lead state oversight of the integrity of political and electoral campaigns, banks play an important role in aiding the transparency of financial flows and uncovering the schemes of illicit funding. This panel will explore ways to institutionalize cooperation between EMBs, financial intelligence units, banking institutions, and regulators. It will explore how risk-based monitoring of financial transactions can bolster oversight efforts, as well as the mechanisms for formalizing cooperation protocols between banks and political finance regulators. Additionally, the discussion will address the role of financial regulators in bridging institutional gaps, standardizing oversight practices, and confronting the challenges posed by non-banking financial channels and emerging digital platforms.
Speakers:
- Petru Rotaru, First Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Moldova
- Constantin Rada, General Director, Department for Control of Political Party and Electoral Campaign Financing, Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania
- Kristina Voko, Executive Director, Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Albania, BIRN Albania
- Charles Baubion, Team Leader on Information Integrity and Foreign Interference, Anti-corruption and Integrity Division, OECD
- Eliane do Rego Torres, ODIHR Senior Campaign Finance Expert and Senior Analyst on Programme Development at the UN University, Operating Unit on Policy-Driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV)
Moderator: Pavel Cabacenco, Senior Regional Election Advisor, IFES
11:30 – 13:00 | Session 5 – Regional Peer Exchange: Practical Approaches to Political Finance Transparency and Oversight
Illicit campaign financing remains a persistent challenge across many democracies. This session provides a space for peer learning and exchange of experiences from across the EU neighborhood and EU member state examples, focusing on how institutions and civil society can work to strengthen transparency, oversight, and public trust in political finance.
Panelists will share insights on legislative and regulatory frameworks, implementation challenges, the role of state-civil society partnerships in monitoring political money, and strategies for public engagement and communication. Drawing on concrete examples from Central and Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans, and beyond, the session aims to surface practical lessons that can inform EMBs' current efforts to improve political finance oversight.
Speakers:
- Dr Suad Arnautović, Member of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Krist Puleri, Head of Sector, Directorate of Electoral Subjects, Oversight, Financing and Monitoring, Central Election Commission of Albania
- Magnus Ohman, Senior Global Political Finance Adviser, IFES
- Mariana Focșa, Analyst, Democratic Processes Monitoring Program, Promo-LEX Association
- Jon Vrushi, Lead, Political Integrity, Transparency International
- Blerta Hoxha, Programme Manager, Western Balkans, International IDEA
Moderator: Dana Munteanu, Secretary, Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova
14:00 – 15:00 | Closing Reflections & Next Steps: Strengthening Electoral Resilience Through Political Finance Reform
This closing session will bring together a panel of distinguished speakers to reflect on the discussions and highlight pathways to strengthen electoral resilience in the region and beyond.
Speakers:
- Kamilla Halvorsdatter Kolshus, Head of Office, Norwegian Embassy Office in Chișinău
- Meaghan Fitzgerald, Head of the Election Department, ODIHR
- Alina Radu, Director, Ziarul de Garda, Moldova’s leading weekly newspaper with a focus on investigative journalism
- Angelica Caraman, Chairperson, Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova
Moderator: Liri Kopaci-Di-Michele, Head, PACE Parliamentary and Electoral Cooperation Division, Council of Europe
15:00 | Closing
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