Dear Friend

As you read this newsletter, there’s a good chance you’re already in holiday mood traveling to wherever home is to recharge with your loved ones and reflect on the year gone by.

No doubt, 2024 was an eventful year.

But don’t just remember major international events—think of the small, everyday things:

• There’s a good chance you read at least one piece of news or a report from an independent, credible source every day.
• It’s likely you voted in local, national or European parliamentary elections, or followed the news about free elections somewhere in Europe.
• Maybe you or someone in your community took action against an unfair decision by posting on social media, writing an email or marching at a protest.

These small, everyday moments, like pieces of a mosaic, come together to form democracy. Unfortunately, these crucial pieces of our lives are under direct threat around the world — including in Europe. The growing signs of our weakened rights are a stark reminder that democracy is fragile and requires constant, collective effort to stay intact—by activists, journalists, prosecutors, human rights defenders, and, like you, citizens committed to democracy.

One of the major projects for the Liberties team this year was preparing the Rule of Law Report, which highlights where democracy in Europe is thriving and where it is struggling. European leaders open to reform value our proposals to strengthen democracy, while more authoritarian leaders are less enthusiastic.

Politics moves slowly, but with each report, we are chipping away at the EU’s resistance to using its powers against governments who wilfully harm their own people. Our success in convincing the Commission to adopt the conditionality mechanism allowing it to freeze EU funds if a government continuously disregards EU values.

We have many more ideas we know will work, and we’ll keep applying pressure to stop European governments from following non-democratic paths.

If you care about the freedoms you enjoy under democracy, like accessing news you can trust, expressing your identity without fear or voting in free and fair elections, help us ensure next year’s report makes an even bigger impact.

By donating to Liberties, you’re doing your part to make society better for everyone, and help our fight to protect democracy, human rights and rights-focused activists.

Happy holidays,

Balazs & the Liberties Team