Now it is time to take concrete steps for regular, structured and transparent civic dialogue Last Wednesday, the European Commission (EC) presented its first report on the rule of law situation in the European Union. This report is complemented with 27 country chapters that analyse the specifics for each member state. The European Civic Forum…
The 3-year long project is implemented by European Civic Forum member Ökotárs and its sister foundations in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria, as well as the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Civil Society Development Foundation (Romania), Youth Initiative for Human Rights (Serbia) and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, and it was launched with an international…
This contribution has been prepared by the working group on Civic Space of Civil Society Europe which is composed of CSE members, the European Foundation Centre as a partner organisation and several organisations working in the area of civic freedoms. We would like to thank in particular the following organisations for their contribution: Civil Liberties…
In May, we launched the call for nomination Stories from the lockdown aiming at discovering and collecting inspiring stories of activists, associations, movements or groups of citizens who are organising solidarity and civic contestation and making policy proposals to ensure rights are at the centre of the response amid the COVID-19 crisis in face of a restricted…
European Civic Forum contribution to the European Commission Consultation on its Roadmap for a European Democracy Action Plan Declining trust in democracy is a well-documented and worrying trend all over the world and Europe is no exception. In order to address the multifold expressions of disaffection about democracy, a good diagnosis of the causes must…
Since the 9th of August, after rigged presidential elections, hundreds of thousands of Belarussians took to the streets to manifest peacefully their disapproval to oppressive authorities that violate people’s civic and economic rights and freedoms. Their fight for dignity and spirit of freedom has met with violent answer by the enforcement forces. Independent human rights…
Following the General Assembly held online on 30 June, the European Civic Forum has officially 6 new member organisations, which now amount to more than 90. The members were invited to vote on 6 applicants, namely: Ökotárs Foundation, or Hungarian Environmental Partnership Association. The foundation exists for almost 30 years, it works on general issues,…
Download in PDF | French version accessible here As stated by civil society actors and the European Parliament, the Council decisions about the EU multiannual budget are not acceptable. Mobilisation and institutional discussions have to redress its shortcomings and ill-directions. In the aftermath of the Council meeting, many Head of States reported on the outcomes with…
The European Civic Forum condemns the retaliation of the Polish government against the re-election of Karolina Dreszer-Smalec, representing the National Federation of Polish NGOs (OFOP), for another term as member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) On 30 June 2020, the European Civic Forum held its General Assembly. The members unanimously condemned the…
Together with over a 100 NGOs, ECF has published a policy paper on how the EU should end gag lawsuits, also known as SLAPPs. Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) are lawsuits brought forward by powerful actors (e.g. companies, public officials in their private capacity, high profile persons) to harass and silence those speaking out…