§3.7 Specific guidance for the elections to the European Parliament

63. As stated in the Communication on the Defence of Democracy package (39) the upcoming elections to the European Parliament will be a crucial test case for the resilience of our democratic processes, also in the face of hybrid threats including not only disinformation and FIMI but also cyberattacks. In that context, and due to their unique cross-border nature, providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs are recommended to put in place robust mitigation measures for the elections to the European Parliament taking place from 6 to 9 June 2024. 64. This means that providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs are recommended to ensure sufficient resources and risk mitigation measures are available and distributed in a way that is proportionate to the risk assessments and include access to relevant national expertise across the EU – both at EU and Member State level. 65. For elections to the European Parliament no predetermined campaigning period exists. This means that in Member States the campaigns for these elections can start and end at different points in time. Providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs are encouraged to take this into account when planning their risk mitigation measures for election to the European Parliament and engage with Member States in preparation of such elections. 66. Providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs should also take into account the unique cross-border and European dimension of these elections, when assigning appropriate risk mitigation resources. Campaigning will not only be national, and the debate will occur across borders. In addition to establishing contact with the relevant national authorities, the Commission recommends that providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs establish contact with EU-level authorities before the elections. The European Parliament plays a key role in the European elections and should be a key interlocutor for VLOPs and VLOSEs ahead of these elections. EU-wide networks of national experts in the areas of disinformation and FIMI, elections and cybersecurity such as the EU Rapid Alert System, European Cooperation Network on Elections and the NIS Cooperation Group could be relevant networks for providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs in case of cross-border incidents, including those of a hybrid nature, during the electoral period that require a rapid response and deployment of risk mitigating measures. 67. Mitigation measures that might have to take into account related threats of a different nature aiming to destabilize or discredit the democratic processes, including cyberattacks, appropriate cooperation across these domains should be ensured. In case of cyber-enabled disinformation or FIMI activity, providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs are encouraged to establish adequate contact with national cybersecurity authorities; where such activity concerns the EU as a whole or the EU institutions, bodies and agencies, contacts with the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) and the Computer Emergency Response Team for EU institutions, bodies and agencies (CERT-EU) (40) should be considered. Furthermore, and in line with what was proposed for national elections, the Commission recommends establishing contact and access to communication with the European Parliament’s administration and European political parties on equal terms before elections to the European Parliament. 68. Providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs who are signatories of the Code of Practice on Disinformation should engage fully in the work related to the elections to the European Parliament, including through effective participation in the rapid response system and feedback mechanism with appropriate and timely follow-up actions. They should also provide – ahead of and after the elections - targeted reporting on the measures put in place to reduce the spread of disinformation, information manipulation and FIMI in relation to the elections to the European Parliament, including relevant metrics on their impact (based on commitments 37.2 and 42). They should - based on the inputs of fact-checkers and civil society signatories - take stock after the elections of the lessons learned, assessing also the efficiency and timeliness of the cooperation – to improve the efficiency of the system for future elections. 69. Section 3.6 on post-electoral review also applies to the European Parliament elections and should account for the particular nature of these elections. 70. To tailor their risk mitigation measures for elections to the European Parliament, the Commission recommends that providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs establish contact and cooperate in particular with the EDMO Task Force on the elections to the European Parliament. For the 2024 elections to the European Parliament, this Task Force will produce reports and regular updates about the main disinformation trends, challenges, and phenomena. This should inform providers of VLOPs and VLOSEs actions and mitigating measures.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07