Driving ethical campaign standards for 2024 European elections
Officials from International IDEA and the European Commission pose for a photo with the leaders of several European political parties following the signing of a code of conduct at the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels on 9 April 2024. Among the officials are International IDEA’s Director for Europe, Sam van der Staak, and Marilyn Neven, programme manager, as well as European Commission Vice-President Vera Jourová (holding the signed document). Credit: European Union/Lukasz Kobus.
Their engagement with the European Commission in 2023 led to a recommendation in the EU’s Defence of Democracy Package on public pledges for ethical online campaigning ahead of the 2024 elections. Building on this recommendation, the team presented their experience with the 2021 Dutch Code of Conduct at a meeting with Commission Vice-President Vera Jourová and the 10 European political party families in February 2024. As a consequence, International IDEA was asked to facilitate the development of a code of conduct for the European Parliament elections.
Led by International IDEA and involving all 10 European political party families, the drafting and negotiation process resulted in a document in which all 10 European political parties made 14 commitments for transparent and fair campaigning, especially in the online sphere. The signing of the code of conduct, at a ceremony hosted by Vice-President Jourová on 9 April 2024, marked a milestone in terms of enhancing integrity and accountability in European Parliament elections. Various media reported on the code.
To increase public awareness, the team presented the code of conduct to all 27 European electoral commissions, the European Commission, representatives of EU member states, the Danish Parliament, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the Victoria Electoral Commission, ensuring widespread recognition of these ethical standards at both the European and international levels.
‘I very much welcome that the political parties signed a voluntary code of conduct ahead of these elections, notably on the ethical use of AI campaign tools.’
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