European political parties have
signed a code of conduct ahead of European Parliament elections
scheduled in June in which they pledge to "support ethical and
fair electoral practices", the European Commission has said in a
statement.
The Commission stressed the importance of the pledge "in a
context of growing concern for the protection of the integrity
of elections in Europe from internal and external threats".
The parties that signed the code of conduct rules included
the European Popular Party (EPP), the Party of European
Socialists (PES), the European Greens, the European Left, the
European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). Identity and
Democracy (ID) instead announced that it would not adhere to the
code of conduct.
"This agreement will help create and build trust with voters
and increase their confidence in the electoral process", said
Commission Vice President Vera Jourová who hosted the signing
ceremony on April 9.
"Elections should set the stage for the competition of ideas,
not manipulative methods such as AI-generated deepfakes".
One of the code's commitments, for example, provides for
signatories to "encourage inclusive political discourse and
participation, refraining from producing, using or disseminating
discriminatory statements and biases against specific groups
based on their gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or
belief, disability, age or sexual orientation".
Another example is the parties' pledge to "refrain from
running political ads sponsored by undeclared interests or
otherwise engaging intermediaries to place campaign messages
without attribution".
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