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Europe experiencing “dangerous rollback of civic freedoms”, warns damning new report in “wake-up call” to EU leaders
Rise of far-right accompanied by a deliberate strategy to delegitimise civil society, through smear campaigns, SLAPPs, and restrictive “foreign agents” legislation Right to protest increasingly under attack, with Palestine solidarity and environmental justice campaigners targeted Government ministers in several states question international human rights law Europe is experiencing a dangerous rollback of civic freedoms,…...
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European CSOs publish seven new country reports on civic space trends across the EU
Today, we are launching seven new country reports that provide fresh, country-level insights into the environment for civil society across the EU in 2025. Each report highlights key national trends...
Welcome to the new Civic Space Watch: From monitoring to action
The European Civic Forum (ECF) is excited to finally share the new Civic Space Watch website, which goes live today! The new, refreshed site includes several new features, including a…...
The European Civic Micro-Grants 2026 are open for applications!
The European Civic Forum (ECF) is pleased to announce that the European Civic Micro-Grants are returning in 2026! As a framework partner of the EU’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV)...
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…...
EDITO: Civil society must remain in the avant-garde of democratic life
by Natacha Kazatchkine, ECF secretary general When asked about the crackdown on student mobilisation for Palestine on US campuses during a live debate in Brussels in January, the historian Timothy...
Civil society must remain in the avant-garde of democratic life
Welcome to the first ECF Newsletter of the new year! In this edition, we hear from new ECF Secretary General Natacha Kazatchkine. Plus: why the European…...
HRCN: DECiDE project demonstrates how civic participation and human rights monitoring can be
The EU-funded DECiDE – Boost Democratic Participation in Cities to Recharge Democracy in Europe project is now well underway, supporting 9 pilot cities across 9 European countries to strengthen local...
Glopolis: Czech Republic – The new government wants to change the financing of the CSO More
The beginning of 2026 brought a sharp shift in the political climate for Czech civil society. Shortly after taking office, the new government presented proposals that would restrict public funding for...
European Movement Italy: Europeans at the polls
According to Chinese constitutionalists, one of the causes of instability in the European political system is linked to the proliferation of local, regional, national and European elections, the...