On the governance of the internet – renewal of the mandate of the Internet Governance Forum

B100360/2025

European Parliament resolution on the governance of the internet – renewal of the mandate of the Internet Governance Forum

(2025/2801(RSP))

The European Parliament,

–having regard to its resolution of 11 February 2015 on the renewal of the mandate of the Internet Governance Forum,

–having regard to the joint declaration by the EU delegation to the Internet Governance Forum held from 23 to 27 June in Lillestrøm, Norway,

–having regard to the joint communication from the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy entitled ‘An International Digital Strategy for the European Union’ (JOIN(2025)0140),

–having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.whereas the main role and function of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is to discuss a wide range of issues related to internet governance and, where appropriate, to make recommendations to the international community;

B.whereas the purpose of the IGF is to carry out its mandate from the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) with regard to convening forums for democratic, transparent and multistakeholder policy dialogue;

C.whereas it considers that while the IGF does not adopt formal conclusions, insights and exchanges taking place there are meaningfully in the development of digital legislation across the globe;

D.whereas the European Parliament sent an ad-hoc delegation to the 2005 WSIS and has sent one since that year to every annual IGF meeting; whereas the delegation has played a pivotal role in promoting European values and fostering interaction with stakeholders;

E.whereas on 26 June 2025 the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Henna Virkkunen, and Members of the European Parliament signed a joint declaration during the 20th IGF meeting in Lillestrøm, Norway;

F.whereas the 80th UN General Assembly, scheduled for autumn 2025, will review the IGF’s mandate, which is due to expire on 31 December 2025;

G.whereas the EU, the United States and other countries signed the Declaration for the Future of the Internet on 28 April 2022;

H.whereas the joint communication from the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy entitled ‘An International Digital Strategy for the European Union’ underlines that the EU will continue to proactively defend the general availability and integrity of the internet as a global, interoperable network of networks, reflecting the importance of the multistakeholder model of internet governance;

1.States that the internet must be and remain open, free, global, interoperable, reliable, secure and governed for all by all; warns about any risk of fragmenting the internet;

2.Calls on the UN General Assembly to permanently renew the mandate of the IGF and to strengthen its resources and the multistakeholder model of internet governance;

3.Calls on the Member States and the EU institutions concerned to continue to support the IGF and its secretariat, and to contribute to the development of an efficient and independent organisation capable of exercising its mandate and contributing to the evolving model of internet governance;

4.Calls on the Member States and the Commission to increase their efforts to support a positive outcome for a resolution of the UN General Assembly by the end of this year as regards the future of the IGF;

5.Considers that, although the IGF does not adopt formal conclusions, the EU’s responsibility is to support this process and to raise the issue of the impact of these exchanges in policy discussions, as the IGF offers a positive and specific context for shaping the internet’s future on the basis of a multistakeholder approach;

6.Stresses that Parliament intends to continue to participate in future IGF meetings with a substantial delegation in order to contribute effectively to formulating an EU approach to the governance of the internet together with the Member States and the Commission;

7.Stresses that fundamental freedoms and human rights are not negotiable and must be protected both online and offline; strongly rejects the idea of a state-controlled internet and mass surveillance of the internet;

8.Stresses the importance of addressing the digital divide and structural inequalities in accessing the internet; considers affordable connectivity to be essential for an inclusive digital environment that leaves no one behind;

9.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Member States and the national parliaments.