Spreekpunten van minister Ollongren bij het Colloquium on Fundamental Rights, 27 november 2018

Take a short stroll down to the polling station.

Colour one section in red.

Fold the ballot paper.

Slip it into the opening in the ballot box.

And you have voted for your preferred candidate.

In the Netherlands, this is something we view as self-evident.

But we never take the time to think about how remarkable it actually is

As a country, but also as a continent, here in Europe.

In the eyes of many people around the world, free elections are nothing less than a miracle. The ability to vote in complete freedom

is one of the most essential characteristics of a democracy.

We as citizens have confidence in that right. We accept it as being as fundamental as the air we breathe in. A certainty.

However, the trust of citizens in fair and free elections – even in Europe – is not necessarily a given. It is not a certainty.

During the referendum about the Brexit, some people went to the polling station with a pen in their hand. They were worried that a vote marked in pencil could be rubbed out. And if you did use a pencil, the message was ‘make sure you press hard’. That way your cross would remain visible.

This January saw elections in Italy. A great deal of fake news was spread via social media. Politicians were accused of hiring their own family members, at the taxpayers’ expense.

And during the French presidential elections, the then candidate Macron reported that his party’s websites were the targets of cyber attacks.

[…]

Between 23 and 26 May next year, new elections are due to be held.

This time in Europe.

For the European Parliament.

These will raise a new set of challenges for the trust in our elections.

Challenges we have been discussing all too often in recent times:

Cyber threats

Online election campaigns that are no longer transparent.

The online spreading of disinformation.

These are new challenges that demand new answers to ensure a sound process.

With the upcoming elections for the European Parliament, this is clearly a task for Europe.

Not only for the Member States themselves.

Of course, the organisation of elections is and remains a national matter. But the challenges facing those elections also call for an answer from Europe.

In September this year, the European package for ‘free and fair elections’ was published. On this basis, together across the whole of Europe, we will work to ensure sound, secure and fair elections.

We are in the process of entering into agreements with tech companies on increased transparency in online advertising. 

We are increasing the information exchange with regard to cyber threats.

And in December, the Commission will be launching an action plan on disinformation. Together, in Europe, we aim to tackle the consequences of the spreading of disinformation. 

Protecting elections is a core task for government.

However, it happens at a boundary line. On the one hand, as government, you wish to protect the freedom of debate, but you never want to censure or to restrict that debate. As the Minister responsible for the democracy in my country, I find myself constantly in a paradox. Should government set the course, or simply let things take their own course?

For me, tackling disinformation is not a primary task of government or of the EU institutions. It is more a task for non-governmental actors such as the independent media, online platforms and the scientific community. Giving governments a leading role in this process would engender the risk of placing the fundamental freedoms I referred to above under threat.

However, wherever our political stability is undermined, there are grounds for allowing a role for government. We as government must be cautious, but not naïve.

Nor may we shut our eyes to the growing influence of tech companies.

We are currently evaluating the extent to which they are wiling to regulate themselves, thereby safeguarding the reliability and transparency of the messages on their online platforms.

That too is a challenge.

Tech companies have access to a great deal of knowledge about the preferences and opinions of individual citizens.

With that knowledge, their influence over citizens is growing.

And through their influence over citizens, their influence over society as a whole and our democratic process is also growing.

I see that as a challenge for the future.

The new European proposals are a step in the right direction.

But we still have a long way to go.

As I commented earlier, the trust of our citizens in our democracy and free elections is after all not a given.

It calls for attention and continuous maintenance.

Together, in Europe.