Practical information
The event is free but registration is required.
Sign up using the form below and you will receive a link the same day as the online meeting.
“Our democracy is under attack”. The quote is from Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union speech in September 2025 and refers to the state of democracy in the EU which, in recent years, is experiencing increased pressure both from the outside but also from within.
Justice systems suffering from political manipulation. Corruption and lack of transparency. Media freedom under threat. Political interference in independent authorities. Overuse of fast-track legislative processes. Shrinking civic spaces. Anti-democratic tendencies are spreading across the EU in recent years, weakening checks and balances and challenging the EU’s self-identification as a community of liberal democratic states.
The anti-democratic, or illiberal,turn is especially concerning in Hungary, the EU’s enfant terrible, but concerns are also growing about other EU member states – such as Italy, Slovakia and Bulgaria – replicating Hungary’s illiberal laws. Meanwhile, a new pro-EU government in Poland has attempted to restore judicial independence and media pluralism though without achieving major progress. While individual countries exhibit variations, human rights organisations report on an overarching deterioration of – and deepening challenges to – the rule of law across the EU.
Together with Dr. Angela Bourne, Professor at Roskilde University and an expert on EU democracy, DEO invites you to an online debate about the impact of democratic backsliding on the EU, and EU efforts to respond to it. What are the challenges? And how can the EU address them?
The EU has – with Ursula von der Leyen’s own words – done a lot to strengthen its tools and step up enforcement to counter the systematic dismantling of democratic checks and balances in several member states. In this online debate, we take a closer look at the gradual development of an EU rule of law toolbox. We ask how effective these tools are, and what challenges there are with regards to formulating an EU response to democratic backsliding within the union. Finally, we raise the question of whether the EU is an appropriate body to respond to domestic political processes.
The debate will be moderated by Amanda Hersbøll, Head of Education at DEO.
Program:
- Presentation by Professor Angela Bourne
- Q&A with participants
- Introduction to DEO’s role-playing game about the future of the EU which includes a session about EU democracy
