Source: European Parliament
Civil society organisations (CSOs) play a key role in upholding fundamental rights, democracy and the Rule of Law. The Commission is committed to defending the core values which the EU is founded upon, and to ensuring a safe and enabling environment for civil society can freely defend and uphold these core values in their day-to-day work.
To carry out their functions, CSOs must be protected, supported and empowered. The Commission has a dedicated policy work strand on a thriving civic space[1], which includes the 2023 Recommendation to Member States on civic engagement[2].
Under the Citizen Equality Rights and Values programme[3], it has also supported almost 1 500 CSOs in all 27 Member States. During its current mandate, the Commission will further step up its engagement with civil society, which will include the development of an EU Civil Society Strategy and further engagement with civil society through a Civil Society Platform.
The Commission also monitors significant developments concerning the situation of civic space in the context of its annual Rule of Law Report.
The 2024 chapter on Greece reports that concerns regarding the space for civil society remain. It also refers to the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases[4] decided by the European Court of Human Rights, which have been pending implementation for more than 15 years.
The Commission will continue to monitor developments in this area and will provide an up-to-date assessment in its 2025 Rule of Law Report.
- [1] https://commission.europa.eu/aid-development-cooperation-fundamental-rights/your-fundamental-rights-eu/eu-charter-fundamental-rights/application-charter/thriving-civic-space-protect-fundamental-rights_en?prefLang=es.
- [2] Commission Recommendation (EU) 2023/2836 of 12 December 2023 on promoting the engagement and effective participation of citizens and civil society organisations in public policy-making processes, C/2023/8627.
- [3] https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/programmes/cerv.
- [4] https://hudoc.exec.coe.int/eng#{%22execidentifier%22:[%22004-15567%22]} .