Democracy is under pressure across Europe. Trust in institutions keeps falling, disinformation spreads at industrial scale, and the space for independent media and civil society is narrowing. Artificial intelligence adds to this: it shapes what citizens know, how they choose, and the work they live off. There is no quick fix – but there is a process underway: the Council of Europe has set in motion the consultation process towards a New Democratic Pact for Europe, consulting governments, parliaments, civil society, business and citizens across its 46 member states through 2026.
For business, none of this is abstract. Democracy protects the rule of law, guarantees fair competition, upholds contracts and provides the predictability companies need to invest and grow – and it is worth defending for its own sake, too. The relationship runs both ways: business benefits from democratic stability, and business decisions also shape it, from lobbying to media ownership and the design of digital systems.
The European Democracy Summit, organised in partnership with the Council of Europe, is part of that conversation. It asks what democracy does for business, and what business does to democracy.
Our mission is twofold: we aim to bring politics and business together in order to provide them with an opportunity to debate and pursue their common goals, giving a voice to all sides of the debate. The other priority of EBS is to provide European institutions with a platform where they can place their top priorities in the spotlight and advance the development of new pieces of legislation through discussion with a variety of actors and stakeholders.
