The External Relations Section of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) organized on 22 May 2025 in Lisbon a conference on “Citizens can defeat misinformation – Civil society for an open democratic debate”. 

The event is part of a larger project launched by the EESC aiming to draw citizens’ attention to the pitfalls of disinformation and to involve them in activities meant to fight it. The first such event was held in Sofia in June 2023, and a second one was organized last April in Chisinau.

At this year’s conference, the Romanian ESC was represented by Mr. Sterică Fudulea, President, and Mr. Bogdan Simion, Vice-President. Among the participants were Portuguese dignitaries, representatives of EU institutions and national Economic and Social Councils, researchers and journalists.

The event was divided into two sessions: “Civil society and the Polish proposal for an EU Resilience Council” and “Factual information and AI against disinformation”. 

President Fudulea gave a speech during the first session and highlighted some important points. Disinformation has reached alarming heights during the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, events that have also shown the value of resilience in the face of disinformation, the value of cooperation and dialog for a democracy. The Romanian ESC wishes to use social and civic dialogue and cooperation to strengthen the social fabric of Romanian and European democracy, to support the integration of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova into the EU and to advocate European technical and financial assistance to the counties of EU member states bordering Ukraine, measures which, put together, can help build a more secure and democratic Europe for all. Disinformation can best be fought with the very weapons of disinformation, namely by encouraging and attracting honest and credible influencers to communicate true and accurate messages to the public. The recent elections in Romania demonstrated the power of these messages, which helped Romanian citizens to make a truly informed choice.