The fourth edition of the Money in Politics conference, held on 16–17 June 2026 in Chișinău, brought together electoral oversight bodies and civil society from across Europe to address the growing challenges of political finance in the digital age.

EPDE partners were among the key voices: Building on the Romanian experience, Septimius Pârvu (Expert Forum, Romania) made the case for stronger third-party regulation and cross-institutional cooperation to counter foreign financial interference.

Nicolae Panfil (Promo-LEX Association, Moldova) drew on more than ten years of monitoring political finance in Moldova to show how much campaign spending remains invisible to formal oversight. He highlighted the risks of covert political finance in the digital space, which required both stronger analyses of “infrastructure of influence” — including accounts, coordinators, sponsors, and narratives —, and closer cooperation between electoral authorities, platforms, law enforcement bodies, media regulators, and civil society.

Both contributions reinforced a central conference message that resonates with EPDE’s own work: effective protection of election integrity requires monitoring political influence throughout the electoral cycle, not only during the formal campaign period.

Recording of the sessions are available:

🎥 Day 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zL8QoExR34

🎥 Day 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgVzusrMWdA

Photos: Money in Politics