Betting on influencers to sell its grand projects and geopolitical priorities to young voters is the new way Brussels’ institutions are experimenting.
Petra Pavlovičová
Welcome to the new era of Brussels diplomacy, where ‘likes’ matter – and so do content creators on social media, who are gaining increasing access to EU institutions, in a high-stakes bet to win over Gen Z.
Facing a generation that increasingly rejects getting news from legacy media, the European Commission, Parliament, Council, and even Nato are courting influencers and content creators to sell their activities to a younger European public.
This isn’t an isolated practice. It is a new shift in political communication.
But as Brussels courts the content-creator economy (estimated at $41.8bn [€36.6bn] in 2026), questions remain about accountability, opaque selection processes, and a fundamental clash with the traditional press — blurring the line between modern public outreach and soft PR.
Content creators traditionally operate in a legal grey area – but there are more and more national rules on, for example, sponsor disclosures. Countries such as France and Germany have tightened disclosure rules requiring influencers to clearly label sponsored or institutional content, following a wave of scandals over undisclosed political and commercial partnerships.
There are no equivalent rules at EU level.
“Creators are not just ‘participants’ – they’re a bridge. They translate what happens at an EU level into human stories. They tell us what resonates, what doesn’t, what confuses, and what inspires,” said Yaëlle Assous, content creator specialist at the European Commission communications department.
Young people are increasingly turning away from traditional news. In this year’s Reuters Digital News Report, 54 percent of respondents said they primarily access news through social media or video platforms.
And according to a 2024 European Parliament survey, 42 percent of Europeans aged 16 to 30 now rely on social media as their primary source of information, outstripping television (39 percent).
‘A propaganda exercise’
The European Council, representing EU member states, launched a new year-long programme with creators on 1 July — making headlines across the Brussels Bubble. But other EU institutions have been working with content creators for a long time.
The Council will give a number of creators access to the Council buildings on summit days and regular working days. Participants will not receive financial compensation, although travel and food expenses will be covered.
A pilot project already took place in May. And some of their participants admit that it all comes down to exposure.
Pietro Valletto, a creator who participated in the council’s introductory sessions, noted that the cohort intentionally blended policy-focused communicators with lifestyle, comedy, and fashion influencers.
“I think it is part of the strategy to mix the two things,” Valletto told EUobserver. “Some people can explain how the institutions work, while others expose the institutions to audiences who normally would not see them.”
However, this access came with conditions. Creators were accompanied at all times. They were given dedicated time to film aesthetic material, but were barred from the core journalistic spaces and tasks.
“We couldn’t ask questions,” Valletto said, recalling that they didn’t actually see any minister meetings.
This engagement has drawn criticism, while others argue there is a line to draw to differentiate creators from traditional media.
Unlike accredited journalists, most creators who get a seat at summits, embassy dinners, or Nato briefings aren’t bound by editorial standards, conflict-of-interest disclosures, or corrections policies.
For Chloé Mikolajczak, a Brussels-based democracy and environmental justice activist, the strategy is a double-edged sword.
While she agrees that institutions must engage with modern media, she fears the current model minimises critical thinking.
“If content creators are not able to ask any questions, if they are just literally being shown around, then for me it is a propaganda exercise,” Mikolajczak warns. “The big question is: who is selecting these people? What are the criteria? Are these criteria transparent?”
Controversial influencer at Nato
Take for example Oskar Barami, a controversial 25-year-old Slovak influencer, who was invited to attend the Ankara Nato summit on 7-8 July.
Barami’s connection to the current Slovak ruling coalition became clear this year, when he was heavily criticised for eating breakfast while flying on the Slovak government’s official plane alongside the problematic environment minister, Tomáš Taraba.
