Identifying, tracking and investigating online disinformation and other problematic content is an extremely complex problem. Many (European) Police Authorities (PAs) do not have access to any specialised tools or technologies to help them combat disinformation. Some of the better equipped PAs are using unsuitable off-the-shelf products that were designed to enable commercial companies to monitor social media chatter about their brands and products or to track the success of advertising campaigns. Such products are not capable of dealing with the complexities of disinformation nor do they provide advanced analysis tools and technologies tailored to the PAs needs. The VIGILANT project solves this problem. It is an integrated platform of advanced disinformation identification and analysis tools and technologies employing state-of-the-art AI methods which were developed as part of several highly successful FP7 and H2020 projects. They will be tailored to PAs use cases and needs, following an ethical-by-design and user-centric approach. In addition, social and behavioural aspects are also taken into account when designing tools and presenting results. VIGILANT covers disinformation from all major sources (e.g., major social media platforms, fake news websites), in all modalities (text, image, video) and in multiple languages. It is also suitable for investigating hate speech, violent nationalist or separatist movements, radicalisation, extremist groups, incels, loan wolfs, and other counter terrorism threats. The project also provides innovative solutions to leverage the knowledge and experience of other stakeholder organisations and (social) media companies. Finally, the project includes training for PAs in the use of VIGILANT and in conducting disinformation investigations as part of a long term sustainable training network. The interdisciplinary consortium includes expertise from social sciences and humanities, ethics, computer science commercial and four European PAs.

SCALEDEM aims at unlocking the uptake of democratic innovations born in R&I actions, in particular stemming from EU-funded projects. This is achieved by developing a scaling infrastructure, including policy roadmaps and an actionable Compass for scaling democratic innovations, based on a Grounded Theory of Scaling. SCALEDEM helps researchers, practitioners, and policymakers assess opportunities and barriers for scaling democratic innovations along four dimensions: scaling high (impacting laws and policy), out (impacting greater more and new people), deep (impacting cultures and identities) and in (impacting processes' quality). SCALEDEM starts by analysing innovative solutions developed in R&I projects on the issue of citizen participation and engagement in democratic governance, in particular Horizon projects whose end date is after January 2023, to develop a Theory of Scaling. Following a collaborative and interdisciplinary translation process in its Translation Hub, SCALEDEM deploys two ambitious Scaling Grounds in the forms of Twinning and Pilot Programmes. The Scaling Grounds test and encourage the uptake of democratic innovations by new end users, scaling the societal impact of those solutions further. SCALEDEM establishes iterative feedback and capacity-building mechanisms to support the replicability and adaptability of solutions in new operational environments and actionability of theoretical solutions. In parallel, SCALEDEM involves and nurtures a global community of end users. It leverages strategic partnerships with relevant R&I projects, initiatives, and networks, notably the Network for innovative solutions for the future of democracy, to overcome the fragmentation of knowledge, identify opportunities to increase synergies for capacity-building actions to policymakers, practitioners and researchers, and expand the societal and political impact of EU-funded research in the EU and countries from Global Europe.

Europe experiences a relaunch of cultural and national stereotypes triggered by the migration crisis, Covid-19, democratic backslides and war against Ukraine. Four decades after the fall of the war, Eastern and Western Europe seem increasingly alienated, each having different perceptions on Europe, the EU and its principles. These trends manifest themselves in an alienation between Eastern and Western Europe, as well as in the perception of Europe in general. Intermittently they are, as we suggest, expressions of resilient post-colonial relationships within Europe. With a focus on the (clichéd binary) East-West confrontation, this project explores the future possibilities of building and managing transnational relationships in the fields of culture and heritage, one of the mainstays of customary cultural diplomacy. Taking six European countries as the basis of our exploration – France, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Romania – we critically examine mutual perceptions in Eastern and Western Europe through the prism of intercultural exchange. In the framework of the project, scholars, practitioners from culture-exchange institutes, artists and creative industries players join forces to scrutinise current difficulties, from diverging historical developments, emotional investments, to challenges of the digital media revolution. The objective is to develop new strategies to conceptualise and revitalise cultural encounters and exchange between East and West to discuss mutual perceptions and ideas. The findings of this collaboration aim at a) boosting the culture-diplomacy / exchange sector by strengthening their role as mediators of transnational European values; b) lay bare best and worst practices in order to develop recommendations for new approaches and (media) strategies. Thus, fostering a more inclusive concept of cultural diplomacy to counter populist, identity-based discourses and to promote the European narrative across different cultural heritages.

The ENGAGE (“Envisioning a New Governance Architecture for a Global Europe”) project will advance the goals that are aligned with the European Commission’s push to have a stronger and more united European voice in the world. ENGAGE will answer how the EU can effectively and sustainably harness all of its tools in a joined-up external action, with an eye to meeting key strategic challenges and becoming a stronger global actor. Our contribution to this ambitious quest will be anchored to a comprehensive and detailed analysis of all dimensions of EU external action, which will go even beyond the call’s requirements. ENGAGE brings together a consortium that provides first-class academic expertise of European and international scholars who cover the entire scope of the EU’s external action, involving many practitioners with vast experience in relevant governmental bodies. Our project will be based on 11 Work Packages (WPs). Two initial WPs will provide an analytical grip on the contextual hurdles, both international and domestic, that the EU faces in the implementation of its external policy. This will in turn inform the other core research WPs of ENGAGE, which are divided into two interconnected clusters. The first cluster will aim to revamp the governance architecture of CSDP, CFSP as a whole, and other dimensions of EU external action (including peripheral and sectoral diplomacies), while the second cluster will aim to improve the performance of the EU’s external action when engaging with strategic partners, its neighbourhood and conflict scenarios. The contextual WPs and the two clusters will converge in a strategic WP – the cornerstone of ENGAGE – that will produce a White Paper for Joined-up, Coherent, Sustainable, and Effective External Action. All of ENGAGE’s deliverables and recommendations will be targeted at policymakers across the EU, and seek to spark an inclusive and representative EU-wide conversation.