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The event will be held in a hybrid format, offering both in-person and online participation options. 

Money is an essential resource for politics and voter outreach. However, if not effectively regulated, it can compromise the integrity of political processes and democracies. Effective state regulation of funding of political parties and election campaigns (commonly known as political finance) and their implementation are vital for promoting the integrity, transparency, and accountability of democratic systems of government.

With Hadja Lahbib, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium; Dr. Adam Bodnar, Elected Senator of the Polish Senate; Erica Gerretsen, Director at the European Commission; H.E Anders H.

Democracies across the world – from established to emerging – are facing a new challenge in the rise of online campaigning, and the way in which political actors increasingly spend money in this space. Online campaigning often operates in a space where rules are unclear, malign actors thrive, and regulators struggle to keep up with the rapidly changing digital landscape. 

As part of ongoing efforts to strengthen democratic resilience and institutional preparedness for Ukraine’s post-war elections, representatives of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine (CEC) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), together with Ukrainian embassies, conducted consultative visits to France and Belgium from 9 to 14 October 2025.

The prospect of EU membership continues to drive democratic reforms in Albania, Moldova, North Macedonia and Ukraine. This report—Part 2 of a broader analysis—focuses on electoral processes and the impact of digitalization in these four candidate countries. It assesses progress in aligning with the EU acquis, particularly in areas such as data protection, cybersecurity and digital governance, while identifying persistent gaps in oversight and institutional capacity.

This report analyses the European digital regulation and its impact on electoral integrity. Through a comprehensive approach, it examines how the EU digital playbook will play a role in regulating the main challenges of our (digital) democracies: data protection threats, cybersecurity attacks, content moderation, online gender-based violence, the use of AI in electoral management, online electoral campaigns, and the use of AI-generated content during elections. 

As Ukraine prepares for post-war elections, the Central Election Commission (CEC) is assessing how artificial intelligence (AI) could strengthen electoral administration.

As part of the EU-funded INSPIRE UA project “Inclusive Support for Participation, Involvement, Representation, and Engagement of Ukrainians Abroad”, International IDEA facilitated a series of consultative visits by representatives of Ukraine’s Central Election Commission (CEC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Embassies of Ukraine to Finland, Denmark and Sweden on 8-16 September 2025.

Mr. Oleh Didenko, Chairperson of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine and Mr. Ilirjan Celibashi, the State Election Commissioner of Albania, signing the Memorandum of Understanding between the Central Election Commission of Albania and Ukraine in Tirana, Europe day, May 9, 2025.

Committed to the advancement and protection of democracy, the representatives from International IDEA’s 35 Member States gathered at the Swiss Mission to the European Union on 5 February 2025 to discuss a critical issue: how inclusion and human rights can support democratic resilience in an increasingly volatile world.

El 19 de septiembre de 2024, más de veinte expertos y participantes debatieron los resultados y recomendaciones de la “Evaluación de las necesidades de la Verkhovna Rada de Ucrania para introducir un currículo de educación parlamentaria sobre el Parlamento Europeo y los aspectos relevantes de la integración en la UE”, que fue desarrollado por IDEA Internacional. El evento titulado “Cómo educar sobre el Parlamento Europeo y la integración en la UE: presentación de la nueva propuesta de marco curricular” fue organizado en el marco del Programa “RADA: Next Generation” (RANG) de USAID.

On 19 September 2024, over twenty experts and participants discussed the results and recommendations outlined in the 'Assessment of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine’s Needs for Introducing a Parliamentary Education Curriculum on the European Parliament and Relevant Aspects of the EU Integrations', which was developed by International IDEA. The event titled "How to educate on the European Parliament and EU Integration: presentation of new curriculum framework proposal" was organized within the USAID "RADA: Next Generation" Program (RANG).

Von der Leyen tiene una oportunidad única de presentar su Escudo Europeo de la Democracia como la piedra angular de su agenda de seguridad. Debería hacerlo tanto en casa como en el escenario global. Su Libro Blanco anunciado sobre el Futuro de la Defensa Europea es el lugar para hacerlo.

This article was first published as a guest contribution in Friends of Europe's 'Critical Thinking' Online Policy Magazine

By Sam van der Staak, Director for Europe at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA)

Following the recommendations from the Parliamentary Electoral Dialogue convened in Brussels in May 2023 by International IDEA and the European Parliament, Ukrainian authorities are diligently examining the conditions in hos

Siguiendo las recomendaciones del Diálogo Electoral Parlamentario convocado en Bruselas en mayo de 2023 por IDEA Internacional y el Parlamento Europeo, las autoridades ucranianas están examinando diligentemente las condiciones en los países anfitriones para organizar la votación en el extranjero (OCV) para las futuras elecciones de posguerra en Ucrania.

Los días 2 y 3 de julio de 2024, la República de Moldavia acogió la RConferencia Regional sobre el dinero en la política 2024, con el tema "El dinero en la política en la era de la globalización y la digitalización".