A discussion of the defense of democracy in the EU in 2024.

Despite Russia’s hybrid attacks, Moldova narrowly voted in favor of joining the EU. Brussels must now supercharge its support for the resilience and accession efforts of Moldova and other membership-hopefuls in the neighborhood.

Thomas de Waal and Natalie Sabanadze discuss the stakes in Georgia’s forthcoming election and explore how the results could affect the country’s course toward EU membership.

The EU’s focus on security has caused it to shift from a proactive to a defensive democracy support strategy. As a new institutional cycle begins, the union risks downgrading its global democracy promotion efforts too much and relinquishing one of its distinctive geopolitical advantages.

The 2020-2024 Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy has been instrumental in advancing EU democracy support through a broad range of commitments. Yet, the rapid evolution of challenges to democracy has outpaced the Action Plan’s capacity to adapt. 

The rules-based order and the defense of democracy have become widely used political frames in the West. While the former concept remains relevant in today’s geopolitical context, the latter requires a considerable rethink.