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 civic space monitoring.
A few days later, our partners in MACS published new country reports, documenting the state of civic space in 2025 in seven countries. The reports will form part of ECF’s Europe-wide Civic Space Report which will be published in May — stay tuned for more information!
And this week, it’s Civil Society Week in Brussels, with a packed programme of events taking place at the European Economic and Social Committee. ECF will be taking part in two sessions, focusing on an enabling environment for CSOs, as well as the importance of EU funding for civil society — a particularly important topic given the ongoing negotiations for the EU’s next long-term budget. If you are unable to attend in Brussels, you can watch all the sessions live on the EESC website!
Meanwhile, for those who are interested in the MFF negotiations, we are teaming up with Civil Society Europe to organise a series of webinars from 16-18 March to provide a space for national organisations to share information on the MFF and discuss priorities. Registration is now open!
In this newsletter, you will find more information about all these topics, plus the latest from our network!