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

B100364/2025

European Parliament resolution on 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 communication from the European External Action Service and the Commission of 5 June 2025 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 although the IGF does not adopt formal conclusions, the insights and exchanges taking place there are significant for the development of digital legislation across the globe;

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

E.whereas on 26 June 2025, Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen and Members of the European Parliament signed a joint declaration at 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 set 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;

1.States that the internet must be and remain open, free, global, interoperable, reliable, secure and governed for all by all;

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 UN General Assembly resolution by the end of this year as regards the IGF’s future;

5.Considers that, although the IGF does not adopt formal conclusions, the EU’s responsibility is to support this process and to raise the impact of these exchanges in policy discussions, as the IGF offers a positive and concrete 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 non-negotiable and must be protected both online and offline; strongly rejects the idea of a state-controlled internet and mass internet surveillance;

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

9.Underlines the importance of preserving a single, open and interoperable internet as a global public resource and warns of any risk of fragmenting the internet;

10.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.