A conference on “The future of international election observation” will be held in the European Parliament, in Brussels, on 10-11 October.

Since 2000, the European Union has deployed more than 140 Election Observation Missions in more than 60 countries around the globe. MEPs are the Chief Observers, while the effective way these missions are carried out is the result of successful inter-institutional cooperation between the European Parliament, the European External Action Service (EEAS), the European Commission and member states.

In cooperation with EEAS, this high-level conference on “The future of international election observation” will bring MEPs, former heads of state, national parliamentarians, representatives of international organisations, election observers, donors and civil society to share best practices on how to conduct elections and to debate the future challenges and opportunities of election observation.

EP President Antonio Tajani will kick off the conference at 15.00. The afternoon session will focus on the challenges and opportunities of election observation: ICT, tackling disinformation and the use of social media.

On 11 October at 9.00, the participants will debate how elections are organised, conflict prevention, security and peaceful transition. This will be followed by two parallel sessions on the role and best practices of parliamentary observation and on the EU-AU-UN cooperation on electoral processes.

Ahead of the conference, EP President Antonio Tajani said: “Since the end of the Cold War, electoral observation has become an integral part of European foreign policy, as one of most effective and transparent instruments for promoting core values and strengthening democracy around the world”.

The event can be followed live here.

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Programme