What is civic space?
Put simply, civic space is the political, legislative, social and economic environment which enables citizens to come together, share their interests and concerns and act to influence and shape their societies.
Civic space enables people to pursue multiple, at times competing, points of view both individually and collectively.
How we assess civic space
We base our analysis on five elements that we believe are crucial for an open and vibrant civic space:
1. A conducive political, cultural and socio-economic landscape: the historical legacy on political culture, together with socio-economic structures and contingent events profoundly shape the public’s understanding of the role of civil society and the values it embodies, the activities it pursues, thus influencing public trust and support.
2. The respect of civic freedoms: a supportive legal and regulatory framework for civic freedoms, in particular freedom of association, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, and its effective implementation ensure the full-stretching, correct functioning and protection of civil society space. Governing bodies have the duty to protect the civic space, refrain from, investigate and discipline actions, laws and statements that threat civic freedoms.
3. A supportive framework for CSOs’ financial viability and sustainability: supportive legislation on funding, including foreign and international funding, and availability of sufficient and predictable resources are crucial to civil society’s capacities, independence and long-term strategic planning.
4. The dialogue between civil society and governing bodies: governing bodies must pursue policies and narratives that empower citizens and their organisations to be meaningfully engaged in the public debate and policy-making.
5. Civil society’s responses to challenges to democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights.
Civic Space Watch
Civic Space Watch collects findings and analyses from actors in Europe on the conditions for civil society to operate, capturing national and trans-European trends in civic space. Through ongoing monitoring of social media and regular contact and interviews with a strong network of members and partners on the ground, we strive to provide easy access to resources and improve information sharing within civil society across Europe with, policy-makers and the media.
Civic Space Report
Every year, we publish our Civic Space Report, which assesses the state of Civic Space across the EU, including country and thematic reports written in collaboration with partners on the ground. The report is developed as part of our submission to the Commission’s annual Rule of Law reporting cycle.
Civic Space Report 2024
In our Civic Space Report 2024, we assess the space for civil society in Europe in 2023. The report finds that civic freedoms have continued to deteriorate. After taking office in 2019, the European Commission leadership committed to a “new push for European Democracy”. However, while the Commission has introduced a range of important measures to boost democracy, the report finds that space for civil society has continued to shrink, indicating that the EU must do more, better and differently to support and protect civil society.
