Brussels, 12 November 2025 — The European Commission has today published its Civil Society Strategy, which aims to support, protect, and empower civil society organisations and activists. The document, which civil society has long campaigned for, comes amid repeated political attacks on the very foundations of democracy, including on non-profit organisations and human rights defenders. The Commission must now ensure that the strategy delivers on its promise to foster a vibrant civic space that helps make democracy work for all.
The European Civic Forum (ECF), which has campaigned for the strategy for several years, welcomes the document’s strong recognition of the diverse democratic roles played by civil society and its positive framework to strengthen their contribution to public life.
The strategy calls on EU and national authorities to engage civil society organisations in all stages of developing, implementing, and evaluating public policy, and to provide adequate funding and protection for civic actors. This is particularly important at a time when vested political interests continue to question the legitimacy of civil society’s advocacy and funding.
The strategy also promises to strengthen and coordinate measures to protect at-risk civil society organisations (CSOs) and human rights defenders (HRDs). This comes after widespread calls from NGOs for an EU protection mechanism.
Commenting on the publication, Veronika Móra, ECF co-president, said:
“This strategy is an important step, with the European Commission recognising civil society as an essential component of our democracies in all its diversity, including its watchdog and advocacy roles.
“Civil society organisations and human rights defenders reach sections of society that are disillusioned with politics, bringing their concerns into public debates and ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard.”
Raffaella Bolini, ECF Co-President, added:
“In recent years, we have seen increasing anti-democratic attacks on civil society, from Orbán’s ‘foreign agents’ law in 2017 to the latest attacks on NGOs in the European Parliament.
“In these dark times, we urgently need concrete measures to support civil society. The encouraging words and good intentions in this strategy must now be turned into real action. We are ready to support the Commission to achieve this.”
Years of campaigning
The campaign for an EU Civil society strategy saw widespread mobilisations from CSOs on the frontline, notably the Reclaim our Civil Space project, run by Ökotárs-Hungarian Environmental Partnership Foundation in cooperation with CSOs from Bulgaria, Czechia, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia. In 2022, ECF and Civil Society Europe launched a call for a Civil Society Strategy, backed by more than 300 European CSOs, and by a European Parliament resolution.
In the run-up to the 2024 European elections, a wide coalition led by Civil Society Europe and Social Platform took up the call in the Civil Society for EU campaign and won the backing of more than 100 newly elected MEPs. The strategy is also the result of huge efforts from determined and committed people within the European Commission, the European Parliament, and Fundamental Rights Agency.
Reflecting on these collective efforts, Giada Negri, ECF Acting Co-Secretary General, said:
“Today, we saw a landmark recognition of the role civic actors play every day. From combatting corruption and democratic backsliding to mobilising in response to emergencies such as the pandemic and environmental disasters, civil society helps to turn fundamental rights into a reality.
“But our work does not end here — the strategy is only a starting point. We will continue to mobilise to ensure that European Commission sticks to its promises and transforms its words into ambitious, and concrete action, and that our governments uphold their duties to fund, engage, and protect civil society.”
ENDS
Media Contact
Benjamin Goodwin, ECF Communications and Campaigns Officer: bgoodwin@civic-forum.eu
About the European Civic Forum
The European Civic Forum (ECF) is a pan-European network of nearly 100 associations and NGOs across 30 European countries. Founded in 2005 by our member organisations, we have spent two decades working to protect civic space, enable civic participation and build civil dialogue for more equality, solidarity and democracy in Europe.