What We Do

Civil Society Europe (CSE) is the coordination of civil society organisations at the EU level:  a strong voice for effective advocacy, alongside the European representation of social partners.

CSE enables horizontal exchanges between civil society organisations and movements across Europe providing a common and permanent space to:

  • Share experience and knowledge
  • Scale-up campaigns and other forms of collective action
  • Act for policy change on transversal issues of common interest 
  • Promote a thriving and enabling civic space in Europe
  • Strive for the recognition of civil society organisations by policymakers
  • Strengthen mechanisms for the participation of civil society organisations in European decision-making processes, as well as their transparency.
  • Work towards an effective, open, and structured civil dialogue at the EU level

Our work in 2024

Some of the primary objectives of CSE’s 2024 work programme are: 

1. Developing building blocks for a civil society strategy based on participation, protection and support of civil society.

2. Enhancing civil society organisations (CSOs)’ democratic participation at the EU level through:

  • Coordinating the participation of CSOs in the follow-up of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE).
  • Civil Society State of the Union recommendations and proposals for the European Commission work programme
  • Coordinating civil society’s perspective on the Defence of Democracy Package
  • Contributing to a framework for cross-border cooperation of civil society at the EU level

Check our Civil Society State of the Union Report!

Check our latest policy paper on the Defence of Democracy Package!

• Campaigning in favour of an enabling civic space and strengthened civil dialogue in the 2024 European Parliament (EP) elections through:

Check our campaign Civil Society for EU!

Check our training manual on civil dialogue!

Check our wiki site for social and civic activism!

• Defending EU values, fundamental rights and the rule of law through:

  • Developing joint civil society assessments of the rule of law and civic space in the European Union.
  • Develop a mechanism for the protection of human rights defenders in the EU.
  • Promoting access to funding for civil society at all levels as well as monitoring key EU funding instruments.

Check our Joint Civil Society Contribution to the 2023 Annual Rule of Law Report on Civic Space!