COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Nearly 300 signatories have signed an open 10-point letter before next month’s European Parliament election, saying lawmakers should be putting democracy at the top of their agenda in an increasingly authoritarian world.

The letter, which was released on Thursday, calls for widening powers to uphold the rule of law, ensuring new digital technologies safeguard human rights, and to place democracy at the heart of the European Union’s security, migration, energy, and trade agendas.

“These converging challenges have created a real risk that in this global election year, EU member states as well as some of its key partners may see the ascent of anti-democratic political actors,” according to the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, which initiated the open letter.

Last month, International IDEA said in a report that voters in 19 countries, including in three of the world’s largest democracies, are widely skeptical about whether their political elections are free and fair, and that many favor a strong, undemocratic leader.