Strengthening Democratic Resilience: From Electoral Reality to the European Democracy Shield

As the European Democracy Shield (EDS) enters an accelerated implementation phase, a critical window has opened to define how democratic resilience will be operationalised across the European Union. The early launch of the European Centre for Democratic Resilience marks a shift from policy ambition to practical delivery, and raises urgent questions about how institutions will integrate real-world evidence into their response frameworks.

In this context, Roma for Democracy convenes a high-level discussion bringing together EU institutions and key stakeholders to explore how field-based intelligence and operational capabilities can directly support the implementation of the Democracy Shield.

Speakers

• Nicolae Ștefănuță – Vice-President of the European Parliament
• Mensur Haliti – President of the Roma for Democracy Foundation
• Enrica Chiozza – Head of Unit B.1, Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST), European Commission
• Felix Kartte – Special Adviser to Commissioner Michael McGrath on the European Democracy Shield, European Commission
• Keara Castaldo – Senior Adviser on Elections, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR)
• Alexander Hudson – Senior Adviser, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA)
• Clémence Longley – Policy Officer, European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN)
• Anda Constantin – Roma for Democracy Foundation

Key Discussion Themes

• Internal democratic suppression as a structural vulnerability within Europe’s democratic architecture and its implications for the EDS
• Forward-looking pathways, including countermeasures to electoral manipulation, disinformation, voter intimidation, and violence against candidates and elected officials
• Implementation-ready early warning mechanisms to strengthen democratic resilience across the EU from its most exposed frontier

Evidence from the Field

Roma for Democracy (RFD) provides real-time field intelligence, election monitoring, counter-disinformation infrastructure, and documented evidence on candidate safety across Roma communities in multiple countries.

7.8 million Roma voters represent a decisive electorate. Where systems work under these conditions, they work at scale. Where they fail, vulnerabilities expand.

RFD builds on 15 years of fieldwork across Europe, demonstrating measurable democratic impact within a single electoral cycle:

• Invalid ballots reduced by half
• Roma voter turnout doubled in targeted communities
• Roma-majority municipalities contributing up to 16% of the winning margin

About Roma for Democracy

The Roma for Democracy Foundation is a Roma-led, non-partisan European democratic foundation addressing the political exclusion of Europe’s 12 million Roma as a systemic democratic failure. Rather than advocating within existing systems, RFD focuses on strengthening the democratic conditions that enable equal participation. RFD operates across Europe to support Roma voters, voices and representatives at all levels of democratic life, from local to EU institutions. Its work is strictly non-partisan: it does not support parties or candidates, but builds the conditions for free, safe and effective participation.