Statement published by the European Civic Forum on 18/07/2024 – accessible here.
On 18 July 2024, the European Parliament re-elected Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as president of the European Commission, the first step before forming the new Commission. In the next five years, EU institutions must rebuild trust in democracy by prioritising policies for internal cohesion, equality, civil liberties and participation, in line with Article 2, 3,11 of the EU Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental rights.
Over the last five years, people in Europe and around the world have faced a series of crises. Life has become more difficult, and many have deep fears for their future. Additionally, anti-democratic forces seek to exploit these anxieties and divide our societies.
But there is another way.
By listening to people’s concerns and addressing their needs, policy makers can build a different future and regain trust. Peace, justice, and human, social and environmental security should be the core principles and values guiding EU policies.
To rebuild trust in democracy, it is essential that civil society is a key partner in policy making.
Civil society, including associations, NGOs, social movements, human rights defenders, trade unions and philanthropic organisations, play a crucial role in upholding EU values related to fundamental rights, democracy and the rule of law. These actors mobilise daily, more so in times of crisis and often beyond their capacity, to assist those in need. They are on the frontlines, witnessing the precarity and the impact of crises on vulnerable people in our societies. At the same time, they often fill the gaps left by governments and institutions that have failed to deliver.
Beyond responding to everyday urgent needs, civil society galvanises people to participate in community and democratic life – providing a space for expression, taking action and holding the authorities to account.
But despite their crucial role, in the last years the space for civil society actors is increasingly shrinking, as demonstrated in our annual Civic Space Report. Additionally, worryingly, in several EU member states civil society organisations are treated with suspicion and labelled as “foreign agents” under the guise of tackling transparency.
Between 2019 and 2024, European institutions have taken some steps to address civil society space in their agenda, from the Rule of Law monitoring process to EU Council Conclusions on civic space, and the recommendations on civic engagement, proposed as part of the Defence of Democracy Package. However, these actions have often been partial in scope, technical and transactional, limited to the economic mandate of European institutions, including a narrow approach to security, while sidelining human rights and justice issues. Moreover, EU legislation and its national transposition are pushed through with little consideration of the negative impact on civil society’s space across Europe.
The recently published EU Council strategic agenda “recognises” on paper the importance of safeguarding the Rule of Law, democracy and fundamental rights, by strengthening “democratic resilience, including by deepening citizen engagement, protecting free and pluralistic media and civil society”.
However, despite claims by the Commission and the Council to engage with and protect civil society, a comprehensive approach to civil society is yet to be developed at the European level. This is crucial for reversing damaging trends and ensuring measures that will enable thorough and structured engagement with civic actors in policy making.
The next five years provide sufficient time for the EU institutions to close these gaps. But if this is to happen, we need both public policies that respond to people’s needs for socio-economic security and create more inclusive societies, and appropriate participatory processes. This must start with an EU-wide Civil Society Strategy, an Agreement on Civil Dialogue, and a strong Vice President mandate responsible for civic space and dialogue with civil society, as put forward by the Civil Society for EU campaign.
Finally, the EU institutions need to move beyond words on paper towards action.