It’s that time of year where the European Commission President takes stock of where Europe is and where we’re headed, in their ‘State of the Union’ (SOTEU) speech. From security and defence to social media, AI, and the climate crisis – Europe can’t afford to stand still, and civil society is one of the sectors […]
The Rule of Law Cycle, led by the European Commission, is a crucial mechanism for monitoring the state of the rule of law across the EU, allowing for the identification of emerging threats and ways to combat them. Civil society has long engaged with this process, emphasizing that the rule of law cannot be addressed in […]
Civil Society Europe’s Reaction to the Proposed Withdrawal of the European Cross-Border Associations (ECBA) Directive On 21st October 2025, the European Commission published its Work Programme for 2026. Despite its commitments to support competitiveness in Europe and to strengthen the European social model, the Commission has proposed to withdraw the European Cross-Border Associations (ECBA) Directive. […]
At EU level, civil dialogue – the regular, structured, and meaningful interaction between institutions and civil society organisations – is outlined in the Treaty on European Union under article 11.2. However, its implementation is still limited, inconsistent and often on an ad-hoc basis. The EU Strategy for Civil Society includes 10 guiding principles on civil […]
The Democracy Shield is an opportunity for the EU to safeguard its democratic foundations. Protecting democracy has been a core feature of our work, from ensuring civil society participation in the Conference on the Future of Europe, to contributing to the Commission’s democracy initiatives, from the European Democracy Action Plan, to the Defence of Democracy […]
To thrive and deliver for the citizens that they represent, civil society organisations need robust and sustainable funding. The sources, mechanisms and amount of such funding also need to be at everyone’s disposal to give citizens and organisations the chance to evaluate them according to their needs. However, most times this information is hard to […]
On 18 June 2026, as the European Council meeting in Brussels takes place, Civil Society Europe and a wide number of civil society, non-profit, education, research, culture, philanthropy, social services and social economy organisations have launched an open letter in support of a strong EU budget for the period 2028-2034. It has been signed by […]
The social media series ‘The Power of Many’ aims to showcase impactful stories from civil society organisations that operate at the national level, bringing their voices to the forefront. Every two weeks, we bring attention to a different civil society organisation, which provides their perspective on how they work to improve people’s daily lives, how […]
On Tuesday 5th May, Civil Society Europe celebrated the launch event of our campaign, Voices of Millions, in Brussels. Civil society actors, EU representatives and EU media gathered to reflect on the campaign themes, the history of civil society, its positive impact, and the current operating environment for civil society organisations. Over 60 participants joined […]
Infographics on Civil Society Funding Our infographics on civil society funding intend to make information on funding understandable and accessible for people and organisations across Europe. Through the democratisation of this content, citizens and organisations can better assess funding mechanisms, call for adjustments and reinforce their participation. ‘The Power of Many’ Social Media Series The […]
