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...

Benjamin Goodwin
ECF members gather in Brussels for 2026 general assembly
On 11-13 May, ECF members gathered in Brussels for our Annual General Assembly. At the general assembly, members discussed the activities of the previous year, a year of significant change for ECF, with the departure of long-time secretary general Alexandrina...
ECF launches Civic Space Report 2026 at packed European Parliament event
On 13 May, ECF launched our annual flagship Civic Space Report at a packed event in the European Parliament. We kicked off the event with a presentation of the findings, which demonstrate a clear trend: EU policies and rhetoric are reinforcing attacks on civil society...
New report documents continued decline in civic freedoms across Europe, with Brussels playing an ever-greater role
Unfounded attacks on NGO funding growing in EU, national parliaments Civil society increasingly cast as “foreign agents” New anti-protest legislation proposed in 7 EU countries Civil society continued to come under attack in 2025, with EU policies now playing a...
What just happened in Hungary?
Welcome to the latest ECF newsletter! In this edition: We hear from ECF Co-President Veronika Móra about the monumental election results in Hungary. Plus, the latest on the MFF.
REGISTER NOW: The new Brussels effect – Why the EU increasingly shapes the space for civil society, and how to respond
Join us on 13 May for the launch of the European Civic Forum’s annual Civic Space Report at a cross-party event in the European Parliament! [ba_dual_button btn_a_text="Register now!"...
Europe’s culture, media, and civil society sectors unite to call for increased AgoraEU budget
More than 500 organisations representing Europe’s cultural, media, and civil society sectors have signed a joint letter calling for a substantial increase in funding for the AgoraEU programme in the next long-term EU budget. AgoraEU is envisaged as a dedicated funding...
We are hiring: Finance and Administration Officer
Are you a professional in administrative and financial management, bilingual in French and English, and would like to put your skills to good use in an organisation working to defend civic space and civil liberties? Then this offer may be for you! We're hiring for a...
February 2026: ECF at Civil Society Week
Welcome to the latest ECF newsletter! February was a busy month and a big moment for our civic space monitoring. We launched the new Civic Space Watch website. Developed through the MACS and Net4Defenders, the site is now built to support our more active approach to...
REGISTER: Webinars for national civil society organisations on the MFF
Civil Society Europe and the European Civic Forum are pleased to invite you to register for our upcoming MFF webinar series "From the Grassroots to the Peak: National Civil Society Organisations and the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF)." We are organising these...










