Commissioner Michael McGrath, in a written answer on 27 July 2026, defended the EU's transparency rules for political advertising and signalled a forthcoming implementation dialogue with stakeholders, including national political parties. The answer, responding to a question by Regina Doherty (PPE), aims to reassure parties that the burden of compliance falls mainly on advertising providers, not on political parties themselves, and that the Commission has already published practical guidelines to ease implementation.
The question, submitted by Doherty, raised concerns about the lack of direct consultation with national political parties as organisations, the regulatory impact assessment, and a request for future engagement. McGrath's response noted that the legislative proposal was accompanied by an impact assessment, which included broad consultation activities and an external study assessing impacts on various actors, including national political parties. He also pointed to the publication of practical guidelines, drafted with stakeholder feedback, and announced an implementation dialogue in 2026 to gather insights from the application of the rules.
While the answer contains no new numerical targets or deadlines, it confirms the Commission's commitment to ongoing stakeholder engagement and clarifies that political parties, as sponsors, are not responsible for labelling advertisements. The policy orientation is one of reassurance and procedural transparency, aiming to balance the regulation's objectives with operational feasibility for political actors. Institutional follow-up is expected through the planned implementation dialogue later in 2026, which may inform future revisions or additional guidance.