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!
Europe is witnessing a dangerous and unprecedented rollback of civic freedoms, with geo-political developments having a significant impact on fundamental rights at home.
This includes restrictive legislation, delegitimising smear campaigns, politically motivated funding cuts, and the criminalisation of movements or critical voices.
Increasingly, these attacks are being “Europeanised” at the EU level, with dynamics at a national level being adopted in EU institutions, and EU policies trickling down to the member states. At the same time, positive developments like the Civil Society Strategy show that there is an increasing recognition of the democratic value of civil society. How should we respond to this new “Brussels effect”?
Against this backdrop, the European Civic Forum (ECF) will launch its annual flagship Civic Space Report at a cross-party event in the European Parliament on 13 May 2026, at 14:30. The report documents the space for civil society in EU and Western Balkans states and has become the go-to analysis for understanding the state of civic space in Europe.
The event will bring together civil society partners and HRDs from across Europe, Brussels-based networks, MEPs, international human rights bodies, donors, and journalists.
During the event, ECF will present its key findings, followed by an interactive panel discussion spotlighting the current attacks against the funding of civil society unfolding at the national and EU level.