2022 was nothing if not an eventful year. As we began to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, we were met immediately by another crisis: war came once again to our continent. At the time, we condemned the invasion of Ukraine and expressed our solidarity with the victims. We continue to do so as the war goes on, causing more death, destruction, suffering and risks. The difficult economic situation we are now facing, partly as a result of the crises mentioned above, partly a structural effect of decades of misguided policy, once again falls hardest on those most vulnerable. As we highlighted in Civic Pride Month, it is democratic civil society that comes to the aide of those in need when so often governments fail to deliver.
But despite the fact that civil society is so desperately needed, it is facing increasing pressure across Europe. Both intentional attacks on civic actors and unintentional actions that burden civil society are having a serious impact on European civic space.
In 2022, we worked hard to mobilise and organise civil society – from the Conference on the Future of Europe to the European Convening. Read all about ECF’s activities in our 2022 Annual Report, out now!