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 Snyder reminded us that history shows that student protests — and more broadly civic mobilisation — are, more often than not, the avant-garde. Civil society may be forced into defensive positions, but it must remain in the forefront of democratic life.
Across the world, civil society is under attack by forces seeking to govern through repression and subjugation. From Europe to Iran, from Russia to the United States, the contexts differ, but the pattern is strikingly similar: when democratic values are challenged, civil society stands up to defend them — and often stands alone.
What we see today is not only an escalation of threats, but also a brave and persistent affirmation of civic power. An affirmation rooted in our greatest strengths: solidarity, courage, collective intelligence, and an unmatched capacity for mobilisation. These are not abstract qualities; they are the living expression of democratic values.
This is also the promise of the European Union as we want it to be delivered: a place where civic engagement flourishes without constraint; where defending democracy does not mean constantly fighting for survival; and where safety is guaranteed.
Of course, defending rights and democracy is part of our role. But existing in a state of permanent self-defence risks consuming our resources, exhausting people, and ultimately erodes democratic agency.
Governments hold the responsibility to guarantee the resources and safety civil society needs to operate freely. This is not a privilege; it is a democratic requirement.
As the new Secretary General of ECF, I see our role clearly: to take our share of this responsibility by strengthening the structures that protect and expand civic space across Europe. Concretely, this means leading the development of an effective and credible civic space monitoring cycle — one that moves beyond observation to provide real protection in case of attacks and secures sustainable resources for action at both national and EU levels.
In the coming months, our work will focus on:
- Launching a renewed Civic Space Watch, delivering reliable, up-to-date, and actionable alerts;
- Strengthening our contributions to the EU Rule of Law cycle, through accurate reporting on the state of civic power across the region;
- Making a strong political and financial case that robust funding for civil society is both a democratic requirement and a strategic investment.
I want to thank all of you — our members, partners, and allies — for your trust and continued support. I invite us all to come together as we prepare our annual Civic Space Report for publication in May, push for the effective implementation of the EU Civil Society Strategy, and campaign for a strong EU budget to support civic engagement for equality, solidarity, justice, and peace.