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So in the coming days, the European Union is set to move forward with its plan for a European Democracy Shield and initiative designed to counter foreign disinformation and interference. Joining me now to discuss the EASE Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the rule of Law and consider Protection. Michael McGrath is with us in the Brussels studio. Commissioner, good morning, Good morning, let's talk about the goals of this project. The details
are going to the Commission to be adopted tomorrow. What exactly are you trying to combat with the Democracy Shield? Is this just about Russia.
We're looking to protect one of the most precious things we have in the European Union, and that is our democracy. It has been hard won. There are many member states of the European Union that just thirty five years ago were not democracies. We need to ensure that our elections are free and fair, that they are free from any
external or indeed internal interfering. And fundamentally, what we are seeking to achieve here is that European citizens can exercise their democratic entitlement in free and fair elections and in a manner that is not subject to any interference, and so that's why we will be proposing, for example, the European Center for Democratic Resilience that President vander Lyine first announced in her State of the Union addressed back in September.
And we'll be fleshing out in a little more detail tomorrow when we publish the proposals the precise role of this new center. But overall, it is going to be a multifaceted approach because we have to protect the foundations of democracy. That means investing in a free and independent and plural media sector. It's also about supporting our civil society, but also ensuring that our citizens are giving given the tools that they need to navigate what is a very
complex information environment at the moment. So investment in media literacy, literacy, supporting our citizens in accessing the information that they need to make up their own mind about who they wish to have represent them at a local, national, and indeed the European level.
And will it be a plan with teeth. I mean we're talking about information that can be spread across for example, social media. Is this something that's going to lead to more European regulation against social media platforms?
But we already have an extensive body of regulation and the toolbox there that we can use. For example, the Digital Services Act imposes quite strict obligations on the in scope platforms in relation to protecting electoral integrity and making sure that the content that is disseminated on their platforms does not in any way impact negatively on the integrity of the electoral processes. Within the European Union, we also have the AI Act, which is progressively coming into force.
What we are going to propose tomorrow will very much complement the existing legislative toolbox that we have, but it will provide more capacity in bandwidth and what this new center will do essentially is coordinate the work that is happening between the EU institutions, the members, state authorities, and other stakeholders to monitor, to detect, and to respond to
any incidences of foreign information, manipulation, interference and disinformation. So we look forward to rolling this out and it is fundamentally about ensuring that our citizens own our democracy and that they can exercise their franchise in a free and fair manner.
Okay, turning to others ses now you're just back from a trip to China. There's plenty to talk about in the EU China relationship, but I just wondered, given the story that we're reporting this morning about the European Commission considering forcing member states to phase out the use of technology from the Chinese companies Huawei and z T. I know this isn't specifically something that relates to your portfolio, but do those security concerns, I mean, are they weighing
heavily on the Chinese relationship? Does this speak to the EU tightening the screws on some of their relationship with China.
Look, we want to have a positive relationship with the Chinese authorities. I had a very good visit there last week where the focus was on consumer protection and product safety, and we're engaged directly with a number of ministers in the Chinese government, with the authorities, and indeed with companies directly as well, and as part of an overall relationship between the EU and China. We have a trading relationship at the moment that is quite unbalanced in favor of China.
So that's why issues like market access barriers for European companies within the Chinese market is a key issue for US. China is a partner but also a systemic rival and indeed a competitor of the European Union. And so my visit was building on the summit that took place back in July that President Vanderline attended in China. And the issue that you've raised is not something I can comment on in any detail because no decision has been made.
Okay, well speaking, you are the first Commissioner to go to China since that summit in July as well, and since then we've had developments, particularly relating to e commerce platforms. We're looking at the investigation happening in France in a relation to illegal products being sold by SHE, and they've also been looking at Team You as well. What is the EU going to do about France's complaint when it comes to SHE, and that's something they've written to the EU about.
But we're in very close contact with the French authorities. We have at an EU level quite a powerful set of tools already, and there are ongoing actions against a number of the e commerce platforms, including those that you mentioned. So there are clear obligations under the Digital Services Act in relation to the dissemination of illegal product online and we're not going to tolerate that within the European Union.
The overall message is clear. If you want to sell into the European market, and it's a very lucrative and a very good market for e commerce platforms to sell into, you must respect EU consumer protection rules and indeed our product safety standards as well. Non compliance is not an option, and that was the clear message that I conveyed in
my visit last week to China. So the report that emerged last week of these childlike sex dolls that were available on at least one and I understand more platforms is something that is completely unacceptable and we will not tolerate that within the European market.
Will there be new action against CN over that.
Well, there are already actions underway, and the French authorities have launched their own investigation and we are remaining in contact with them. But already at an EU level, there is an action underway in the context of the DSA relating to illegal products on the platform, and so that has to take its course and it will do. But we have powerful instruments, we stand ready to use them.
We have to allow you process and allow counterparties the right to respond and to address any claims that we're making, but we will bring this to a conclusion and we will ensure that such products have no place in the European market and will not be contenance.
Is the Digital Services Act strong enough to help deal with the e commerce platforms? Is it adapted to dealing with those particular type of companies.
The Digital Services Act is a very powerful tool and
we are using it. It is my view that the main body of consumer protection law that we have within the European Union, that's the Consumer Protection Regulation as such that we do need to strength that, we need to give the Commission a greater role in investigating and enforcing consumer protection laws more generally, because the DSA only covers certain inscore platforms, and then it only covers them to the extent of the reach of the consumer protection element.
Within the DSA, there's a wider body of consumer protection law which currently falls to the national authorities to implement, and there are different capacities to be frank around the European Union on that question, and that's why I am proposing that the European Commission would take on a greater role and be given more teeth to take on these issues, not just against the very large platforms, but against any other e commerce retailers that flout the.
EU rules because are you seeing some of those platforms being able to get around national authorities.
But the national authorities have different capabilities and they are resourced to a different extent. And at the moment where there is a coordinated CPC action consumer Protection Cooperation action, we coordinated centrally within the Commission, but it is led by the individual national authorities and very often the outcome is that the harm is stopped, rather than there being an actual penalty and a disincentive to repeating such behavior
in the future. And I think we do need to have a stick where EU rules are being broken, because consumers have to be protected and product safety is not just a bureaucratic obligation. It's about protecting EU citizens from real harm that can actually lead to death.
Because there is a question of some of the investigations that have been launched into the DSA, there's a series of them against those big platforms and still no formal outcomes. Should we be expecting results from those investigations. Soon there will be results, and the results will emerge quite shortly.
We do have to ensure that your processes followed, because as night follows day and the adverse finding by the European Commission against an INSCO platform under the ESA is going to be most likely challenged, and we have to make sure that our process is robust, but.
We do also have to ensure that it comes to a conclusion, and I believe that a number of them will shortly.
Okay, Michael mcgrat you, Justice Commissioner, thank you very much for joining us in studio this morning, just because all of those various issues