FORESIGHT ON EUROPEAN VALUES AND DEMOCRATIC SECURITY - 2025

ended

Res Publica is a European think tank committed to advancing public debate and increasing awareness of democratic values and democratic security in Central European countries. With the continuation of the project, we aim to further enhance the quality of public and expert-level debate on the future policy directions in the EU in the context of securing common EU values, and to nurture collaboration amongst civil society as a means to further embed democracy and its resilience in the region. The first year completed a scenario-based analysis and produced public debate around actionable democracy-related recommendations for the EU Strategic Agenda 2024-2029. In the year 2025- proposed herein - the project will prioritise democratic security perspectives related to specific policy initiatives that will emerge in 2024 and update the scenarios prepared in 2023. We will focus on the priorities of the Hungarian and Polish EU presidencies and new political groupings in the EU Parliament. Our work will be informed by EU democratic security strategies, incl. European Democracy Action Plan, Citizenship Report 2020, Rule of Law Report, Charter of Fundamental Rights, journalists' protection, and LGBTIQ Equality Strategy, gender mainstreaming, anti-racism, minority rights. Through foresight-driven debates, we will engage leading press, experts, and think tanks in the CEE region, focusing on democratic security, media freedom, civic liberties, election integrity, and social cohesion. Our activities, incl. trend monitoring, scenario updates, and extensive dissemination, will serve citizens' understanding of EU integration, counter limited access to public information, build trust in democratic institutions, and address polarisation. The project will generate foresightful recommendations, alerts, and engaged debate on various EU policy areas - particularly crucial in the deteriorating public debate and declining support for EU values in the region, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.