EUROPA-ONG (www.europaong.org) is organising on Friday 28 November 2025 (from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.) at Limoges City Hall – Louis Longequeue Room, a European conference on the theme: “Public action in Europe tested by disinformation: what responses to protect democracy?”
This conference, held under the auspices of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Mr Alain Berset, and under the patronage of Ms Evelyn KORN, Chair of the Governing Board of the European University for Peace, Justice and Inclusive Societies (EUPeace), is supported by: the Nouvelle Aquitaine Region, the Departmental Council of Haute-Vienne, the Limoges Métropole Urban Community, the City of Limoges, the University of Limoges and its partnership foundation, and the National Centre for Local Civil Service (CNFPT).
It constitutes the 29th edition of the Regular University Discussions on Administration in Europe, launched by EUROPA in 1997.
As in previous years, the main institutional and economic stakeholders involved in this public policy, brought together in the “EUROPA 2025 Conference Partners’ Club”, are actively supporting the initiative taken by our NGO.
1) Information on the scientific content of the EUROPA 2025 conference
The EUROPA 2025 conference will be structured around the following three main sessions:
- How can disinformation be defined?
Law and the social sciences are seizing on the issue; the aim will be to distinguish disinformation from related concepts, to draw up a typology of disinformation, and to consider its links with conspiracy thinking, populism, etc. It will also involve looking at the tools and channels of disinformation. - The consequences of disinformation:
Erosion of citizens’ trust in institutions and their representatives, influence on electoral and referendum processes, polarisation of public opinion at both European and local level. Local and regional authorities must also organise themselves in the face of disinformation, which has a strong impact both on the implementation of public policies and on public decision-making. - How can we combat disinformation?
Actions by public and institutional actors and the mechanisms that help to fight disinformation (education, possibilities for regulation, regulatory frameworks, relevance of judicial responses, and the contributions of participatory democracy).
2) Practical information about the EUROPA 2025 conference
a) The EUROPA 2025 conference is organised in a dual format
- A “digital, remote” format, based on the concept of an interactive TV programme, with the set installed at Limoges City Hall, Louis Longequeue Room.
- An “on-site, in-person” format, based on the concept of a “European conference”, held under the conditions of recording an interactive TV programme.
b) The EUROPA 2025 conference is free of charge.
Please note that participation by local government staff in the EUROPA 2025 conference may be recognised by the CNFPT as professional training, provided that participation takes place in person (to be specified at the time of registration).
c) Pre-registration for the EUROPA 2025 conference is compulsory, for the proper handling of participants, and for logistical and security reasons.
Registration is done online on the website www.europaong.org, by choosing:
- either to join in person on the day in Limoges, with the EUROPA-ONG team at Limoges City Hall – Louis Longequeue Room, to attend the conference;
- or to connect to EUROPA’s YouTube channel to watch the conference live, using the connection link provided by EUROPA-ONG to the “community of registrants”.
3) Information on the prominent personalities attending the EUROPA 2025 conference
- Aude FAVRE, Journalist and fact-checking specialist; President of the association Fake Off
- Emmanuel DERIEUX, Emeritus Professor of Public Law at the University Paris II Panthéon-Assas
- Arnaud MERCIER, Professor of Information and Communication Sciences at the University Paris II Panthéon-Assas
- Martyna BILDZIUKIEWICZ, Deputy Head of Division, European External Action Service (EEAS)
- Ricardo GUTIERREZ, Secretary General of the European Federation of Journalists
- Dominic HOWELL, Political Analyst for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Election Observation Missions in Romania and Moldova (United Kingdom)
- Rachid TEMAL, Senator for Val d’Oise, Deputy Chair of the Socialist, Ecologist and Republican Group in the Senate, Vice-Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and the Armed Forces
- Alice BRITES OSORIO de OLIVEIRA, Officer responsible for enhancing the research networks of the European EUPeace alliance, European University for Peace, Justice and Inclusive Societies; lawyer and linguist
The official opening of the conference will feature an address by Laurent NUÑEZ, Minister of the Interior (opening video pending confirmation), and throughout the conference there will be contributions from European experts of the EUROPA network from 12 Member States of the European Union.
Note: This contribution is based on the info PDF provided by EUROPA-ONG and was AI translated from French into English. All errors and/or inaccuracies are derived either from the original source material or the AI translation.
