Background

In her political guidelines for 2024-2029, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged to strengthen citizens' voice in the EU and step up engagement with civil society organisations (CSOs). In its 2025 work programme, the Commission announced a comprehensive strategy on CSOs. This initiative was praised by a number of CSOs, stakeholders and EU bodies such as the European Economic and Social Committee. Many stakeholders have been voicing concerns about shrinking civic space, which has resulted in a range of recommendations, including calls for policy interventions.

The European Parliament, too, in a March 2022 resolution, recognised the stress under which CSOs increasingly operate and called for a range of interventions such as: an EU alert mechanism; a statute for European cross-border associations; enhanced monitoring to ensure that civic space is not negatively affected, including the use of infringement procedures; a coherent policy framework to foster inclusive participation; and 'long-term predictable, adequate and enabling financing for CSOs' and a reduction of red tape.The Civic Space Report for 2026 also pointed to the deteriorating environment under which CSOs operate in the EU.

In March 2026, the Democracy, Rule of Law, and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group (DRFMG) of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) discussed the protection and empowerment of civil society and underlined the challenges faced by CSOs, such as: threats and attacks; smear campaigns; criminalisation of activities; political interference; and financial and bureaucratic pressure. In terms of remedies, the discussion pivoted around the usefulness of early warning systems and enhanced financial support through AgoraEU.

The strategy

On 12 November 2025, after a public consultation which attracted a significant number of contributions from CSOs, including from third countries, the Commission issued a communication outlining the EU strategy for civil society. This document set out a policy framework and actions at EU and national level to protect CSOs within and outside the EU. The strategy is addressed to the European institutions as well as the general public, and recognises the important role of CSOs (i.e. non-state, not-for-profit, independent, non-partisan, non-violent organisations), through which people pursue and defend shared objectives and ideals, including human rights defenders (HRD). It offers protection to CSOs that are accountable, independent, transparent and respect EU common values of democracy, dignity and respect for fundamental freedoms. The strategy is based on three main pillars.

The first pillar focuses on strengthening effective engagement with CSOs as partners in governance. CSOs help shape EU policies in many fields by providing advice and expertise. In addition to existing tools (e.g. Have your say, better regulation tools, local councillors, civil society dialogues, consultations), the strategy identifies 10 guiding principles that must be observed in the dialogue with civil society: partnership; comprehensiveness; predictability and regularity; transparency; representation; inclusivity; accessibility; accountability; resourcing; and safety. The strategy also emphasises the importance of Commission Recommendation 2023/2836 on promoting the engagement and effective participation of citizens and CSOs in public policymaking processes. The Commission committed to: establishing a Civil Society Platform and organising an annual summit of the Platform; promoting the 10 principles; engaging with civil society through tools such as the Youth Advisory Board, the Youth Dialogue, policy dialogues and the Youth Stakeholders Group; and engaging with citizens' panels to create a bridge between CSOs and citizens.

The second pillar highlights the need to support and protect CSOs. The Commission acknowledges the increasing range of threats that CSOs have to face, from attacks on their staff, to smear and disinformation campaigns. The strategy proposes preventive and reactive measures, along with increased engagement to monitor the challenges faced by the civic space. Further to existing tools (its annual rule of law reports, SLAPP legislation, the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme (CERV) and the European fact-checking network), the Commission committed to: creating an online knowledge hub on civic space; exploring ways to strengthen CSOs and HRD at risk in the EU; supporting training for justice professionals on SLAPPs that target CSOs; and strengthening the EU's warning system where civic space is shrinking in enlargement countries.

The third pillar focuses on ways to provide 'long-term, predictable and sufficient funding'; funding can be public or private. For the latter, it is necessary to create a favourable environment for private donors in which philanthropic freedom is protected. The EU already supports CSOs financially through programmes like CERV, Agora EU, Erasmus + and the EU Solidarity Corps. For the future, the Commission will explore possible funding gaps, work to connect communities and pro bono lawyers with CSOs across sectors, and explore possibilities to extend financial support to third-party schemes across relevant EU funding programmes.

The strategy also highlights the need to: support civil society in EU external action; strengthen dialogue with CSOs in all policy areas, including at international level; and promote CSOs' participation in multilateral fora.

Reactions to the strategy

While there is overall consensus that such an initiative was long overdue, reactions to the strategy have been mixed. The Good Lobby and La Strada International considered it to be a good starting point, but not enough and needing consistent follow-up by the Commission. ERGO and ClientEarth also underlined its importance but stressed that more needs to be done; other observers highlighted the contradictions with the Commission's approach to policymaking, which often sidelines CSOs. Civil Society Europe considered the strategy to be a positive signal overall, while the European Civic Forum and the European Centre for Not-for-profit Law emphasised the importance of implementation. Liberties lamented the lack of concrete actions, while the European Movement International considered the strategy to be a significant step in building democratic resilience.