A European Pravda correspondent from Brussels reported this on Wednesday, November 12.The European Democracy Shield and the Strategy for Civil Society, approved by the European Commission, aim to combat hybrid threats and information fakes from Russia. "Our democracy is under pressure and under attack. Soon it will be four years since Russia launched its full-scale aggressive war against Ukraine. And even longer since it began to purposefully attack the European Union through hybrid attacks, information manipulation, and interference," said Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Henna Virkkunen to journalists, presenting the Democracy Shield to journalists in Brussels.According to her, the European Democracy Shield will have three components: protecting the EU's information space, strengthening democratic institutions, and enhancing societal resilience.Regarding the protection of information in the online space, the tool's goal is a rapid and coordinated response to large-scale and potentially cross-border information operations.The direction of strengthening democratic institutions focuses on ensuring free and fair elections, as well as free and independent media – with additional financial support from the EU budget totaling up to 9 billion euros (Agora EU program) for independent media, civil society, and creative industries until 2034.The third component of the Shield is dedicated to strengthening societal resilience so that citizens can fully play their role in democracy."This means investing in media literacy, especially among young people, to teach them to recognize reliable sources and navigate the information environment," Virkkunen emphasized.Some projects and directions will be open to EU candidate countries, as well as potential candidates, to support them and promote mutual information exchange. "Today we also adopted a new EU Strategy for Civil Society, which will complement the European Democracy Shield... This strategy will ensure coordinated and effective support and protection for civil society organizations across the EU," the European Commissioner said.As part of the Strategy, a new Civil Society Platform will be created by 2026 to strengthen dialogue on protecting and promoting EU values.An online Knowledge Hub on Civic Space will also be created to facilitate access to existing projects and tools, including current protection measures.In its proposal for the new multiannual financial framework (MFF), the European Commission proposed to significantly increase financial support for civil society organizations.In addition, the European Commission plans to introduce measures that will facilitate access to various funding sources, creating closer ties with private donors and communities that provide pro bono legal assistance.