Brussels Democracy Dialogue 2025: Time to reset! How can we revitalise European democracies?

09:00 Welcome

• Tobias Mörschel, Director Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Brussels Office

09:05 Keynote

• Katarina Barley MEP, Vice-President of the European Parliament und PES Executive Vice-President

09:30 – 11:00 Session 1: How can we get people to care about and defend democracy?

In recent decades, our democracies have become more inclusive and pluralistic. These changes have often occurred without the participation and consultation of the wider society. As a result, when these liberal elements of democracy are attacked by authoritarian-minded politicians in many countries, few step up to defend them. The warnings of progressive actors about the dangers to democracy from the illiberal right have proved too abstract and unconvincing for many voters. How can effective narratives be developed to convince citizens that democracy is indeed at risk? How can we better convince people that liberal elements, such as civil liberties and an independent judiciary, are essential to an advanced democracy? Authoritarian leaders often claim that their undemocratic actions are aimed at protecting the country and its identity. Do we thus need to develop a counter-narrative based on emotions and collective values? What would such a narrative look like? 

• Ana Catarina Mendes MEP, Vice-President of the S&D Group
• Rachel Beatty Riedl, Cornell University
• Dan Slater, Center for Emerging Democracies, University of Michigan
• Jakub Kocjan, Akcja Demokracja

11:00 – 11:30 Coffee Break

11:30 – 13:00 Session 2: How can European democracies deliver better?

Many voters seem willing to put economic benefits ahead of democratic norms and principles. This has been abused by many authoritarian-minded actors who have secured their hold on power by providing their constituents with monetary transfers, immediately improving their lives and securing their loyalty. By contrast, progressive actors' speeches about a long-term struggle against economic inequality seem both too abstract and inadequate to many voters, who demand that policies have an immediate impact on their everyday lives. But what particular policies are likely to improve people's daily lives and thus strengthen their ties to democracy? What would a social democratic vision for better (economic) governance look like? In addition, many people feel they have been treated unfairly or have not been taken seriously by the current democratic system. How can we strengthen their faith and confidence in liberal and social democracies?

• Anil Duman, Central European University
• Jeroen Beirnaert, International Trade Union Confederation
• Tarik Abou-Chadi, University of Oxford

13:00 – 14:00 Lunch Break

14:00 – 15:30 Session 3: The European Democracy Shield and the struggle against radical right disinformation

Foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) has become one of the biggest threats to our democracies, not only in Europe but globally. The far right is using the latest online and media tools, including AI, to spread disinformation and to manipulate voters across the world. Tech oligarchs are supporting illiberal right-wing politicians and activists on their social media platforms, while at the same time attacking independent media. The European Commission has announced a so-called European Democracy Shield to better protect citizens from threats to democratic institutions and electoral processes. Will it be strong enough to counter FIMI and really protect EU citizens and our electoral systems? How can the far right be pushed back online and what new instruments need to be developed? What promising progressive answers could be found to the problem of disinformation and aggressive online propaganda from the far right?

• Rebekka Kesberg, Senior Research Fellow, University of Sussex
• Bharath Ganesh, Assistant professor, University of Amsterdam
• Valeriu Pasa, Chairman, WatchDog.MD Community, Moldova
• Alice Stollmeyer, Executive Director, Defend Democracy

15:30 – 16:00 Coffee Break

16:00 – 17:30 Session 4: Rethinking (social) democracy: where can we find a new democratic vision? 

Trump and the tech oligarchs appear to be in the process of tearing down the world’s oldest democracy and encouraging autocratically inclined leaders around the world to copy them. In Europe, far-right parties are encouraged by a feeling that we are shifting towards a society and system in which checks and balances, a rules-based order and participation no longer feature. In general, people seem open to systemic disruption and fundamental change. We should use this potential openness to radical change to entirely rethink how we can revitalise our pluralistic and liberal democracies. What are the most interesting new out-of-the-box ideas? How can we strengthen transnational cooperation between progressive actors in politics and civil society by learning from our opponents?

• Evin Incir MEP
• Thamy Pogrebinschi, WZB, Berlin Social Science Center
• Alberto Alemanno, HEC Paris; Harvard University
• Anja Neundorf, University of Glasgow

17:30 Closing Remarks

• Manuela Erhart, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Democracy of the Future Office

17:45 – 19:00 Reception

The Brussels Democracy Dialogue (BDD) is a high-level platform for the exchange of progressive ideas and proposals for addressing the abovementioned challenges to democracies organised by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung EU Office in Brussels and the FES Democracy of the Future Office in Vienna. Around 100 progressive democracy experts from politics, academia, trade unions and civil society from Europe and beyond participate each year.

The aim of the BDD is to question our established explanations and to offer new and innovative solutions that can help progressive actors successfully to confront the recent global trend of democratic backsliding. There is a particular focus on how social democracy can be defended and how it should respond to the current challenges.

To read further, explore the Brussels Democracy Dialogue 2024 and the Brussels Democracy Papers, a series of policy briefs developed from last year's event.