The EU Artificial Intelligence Act must safeguard Civic Space, Fundamental Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law Artificial intelligence and the EU AI legislation will have a significant impact on civil society and the realisation of the common values and principles...
Co-creating a strategic approach for an open civic space in the EU
In December 2022, European Civic Forum and Civil Society Europe convened over 100 representatives of civil society, institutions and donors to discuss how to enable, protect and expand Europe’s civic space. This work will now feed into a pan-European campaign ahead of the 2024 elections.
Protecting and expanding civic space in Europe – a year of civil society consolidation
2022 has been nothing if not an eventful year. As we began to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, we were met immediately by another crisis: war came once again to our continent. At the time, we condemned the invasion of Ukraine and expressed our solidarity with the...
EDITO – EU institutions and strengthening civic space: Giving with one hand and taking with the other?
The European Commission’s inclusion of a cross-border statute for associations and measures on civic space in its 2023 work programme are encouraging signs. Parliament’s call for France-style restrictions on access to funding, particularly targeting Muslim...
Civil society public letter on the Council’s proposed general approach to the Regulation of Political Advertising, calling for a regulation that delivers for democracy and fundamental rights
European Civic Forum, alongside more than 30 civil society organisations, signed an open letter to the Czech Presidency of the Council, calling for a regulation on political advertising that delivers for democracy and fundamental rights. Dear Mikuláš Bek, Minister for...
State of the Union Address: To defend democracy, it must answer people’s needs. Involving CSOs in EU policy making is integral to achieving this.
President von der Leyen’s State of the Union address touched upon many issues and broadly formulated proposals, often not sufficiently detailed for immediate in-depth analysis. In this editorial we look at the narrative and the proposals to reinforce European...
European Civic Forum and Civil Society Europe discuss Civil Society Strategy with cabinet of Commission Vice-President Šuica
The European Civic Forum and Civil Society Europe met with the cabinet of Commission Vice-President Šuica on 28 September to discuss prospects for a civil society strategy and civic participation in policy making. The meeting was organised as a follow-up to the...
3rd rule of law report: the commitment to promote and protect the rule of law requires turning words into action!
On 13 July 2022, the European Commission published its third annual report reviewing the rule of law infrastructure and developments in 27 Member States in 2021. The European Civic Forum took part in the consultation process by showcasing concrete examples of how...
European Commission must guarantee a meaningful role for civil society in ‘RebuildUkraine’
Statement by European and Ukrainian civil society organisations Published during the Ukraine Recovery Conference, Lugano (Switzerland), 5 July 2022 European civil society has been standing and continues to stand in solidarity with Ukraine and its people in the face of...
300+ CSOs call on the European Commission for a European Civil Society Strategy: join our campaign!
Today the European Civic Forum joins 300+ CSOs from all across Europe to call on the President of the European Commission to include in the work programme of 2023 a proposal for a European Civil Society Strategy. Read the letter here: https://bit.ly/3xLbk9j Why a...