Sánchez defends his “digital democracy” proposals at a new European summit with a “rocky” start

Eduardo González Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez defended his proposals for “digital democracy” on Monday at the eighth meeting of the European Political Community. The meeting took place in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, and, as happened eight months ago, began with a breakdown of the presidential plane, forcing a change to the initial plans, although it did not prevent his in-person participation. The eighth meeting of the European Political Community, an initiative launched in 2022 by French President Emmanuel Macron to strengthen cooperation and alliances among all the countries of the continent, brought together leaders from 48 countries in Armenia (the 27 EU members and twenty other European countries, plus Canada as a guest country) to jointly discuss the risks facing the defense of global peace and democracy. The president spoke at the roundtable on "Democratic Resilience and Hybrid Threats," where he warned of the widespread decline in democratic quality, according to international indices, and expressed his concern about the vulnerabilities exploited by owners of digital infrastructure and social networks. He also cited a study by UNICEF and the University of Santiago de Compostela, highlighting the harm caused by children's premature access to social media. Therefore, Sánchez called for priority action in three areas: the implementation of the European Shield of Democracy and the allocation of resources to the European Centre for Democratic Resilience; the establishment of a digital age of majority at the European level and the review of platform obligations under the Digital Services Directive; and the coordination of actions by countries committed to protecting and strengthening democracy. He also recalled the initiative promoted by the Spanish Government, “In Defense of Democracy,” held last April in Barcelona, and encouraged other countries to join the Round Table on Digital Democracy and to support the newly created UN Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence. A rocky start Sánchez's visit to Yerevan got off to a rocky start after a technical failure on the Airbus A310 in which he was traveling with the rest of the Spanish delegation forced him to land in Ankara and spend the night in the Turkish capital. The president resumed his trip to Armenia on Monday morning on the same aircraft, once the problem had been resolved. This is not the first time something similar has happened. Last September, Pedro Sánchez was forced to cancel his in-person participation in the meeting of the Coalition of Volunteers on Ukraine, held in Paris, due to a malfunction on the Falcon 900 aircraft after 40 minutes of flight. He was finally able to participate via videoconference from the Moncloa Palace. Bilateral meetings On Monday, President Sánchez held a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, with whom he discussed the global context, the defense of the multilateral system and international law, the potential of bilateral relations in trade, and cooperation in energy and digital sovereignty. He also met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, with whom he discussed the importance of completing the peace process and continuing to strengthen ties between Armenia and the European Union.

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