Bridging the Digital Gap: Advocacy Visit of Electoral Authorities from EU Enlargement Countries to EU Institutions

From 2-5 March, senior representatives of Election Management Bodies (EMBs) of these EU candidate countries and potential candidate countries engaged with key EU stakeholders to exchange perspectives on one of the most pressing issues for democracy: protecting electoral integrity in the digital era. Delegations held meetings with the European Parliament secretariat, EU institutions, DG JUST, DG ENEST, EEAS, Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), the EP Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield, and democracy experts.

The visit contributed to strengthening the dialogue between EU institutions and the electoral authorities, while supporting the critical role of the latter in the accession process.

Major discussion highlights included how to address key issues such as disinformation, cybersecurity in elections, online campaign regulations, and political financing transparency, as well as alignment with the EU legislative framework. It also built on the valuable insights from EU candidate countries and potential candidate countries that EU countries stand to learn from. 

This advocacy visit occurs at a particularly crucial moment, following the launch of the European Democracy Shield Initiative in November 2025, an EU effort to enhance democratic resilience against hybrid threats and foreign interference. The Permanent Mission of Albania to the EU hosted a reception to welcome the delegations and representatives of EU institutions and diplomatic missions, and electoral experts. 

This initiative builds on two regional conferences held in Tirana and Chisinau in October 2025, where election officials, EU representatives, civil society, media, and experts examined how the EU’s evolving digital rulebook shapes electoral processes. All the actors welcomed the EU vision of a coordinated and integrated approach to safeguard election integrity. 

International IDEA, together with the electoral delegations and Stifung Mercator reflected on the achievements of the project “Closing the Digital gap in Election in EU Accession” and discussed shaping the strategic intervention for the next phase.