Key Takeaways from EU Civil Society Week

EU Civil Society Week took place from 2-5 March, organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). A series of sessions were livestreamed from Brussels, the recordings of which are available here. 

Civil Society Week 2026 was framed by a backdrop of growing constraints on civil society organisations (CSOs), human rights defenders and free media, including funding cuts, political pressure and foreign interference in European election campaigns. The need to safeguard civic space was highlighted, particularly in light of declining trust in institutions and disillusionment with their ability to deliver on the promise of peace, prosperity and justice. It was clear from the event that a more pro-active – not only defensive – approach is needed to promote democratic resilience, and that organised civil society is part of the core infrastructure of European democracy.  

High-level Irish representatives from EU institutions who participated as speakers across various sessions included Séamus Boland (President of the European Economic and Social Committee – EESC), Michael McGrath (EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection), Dr. Katherine Zappone (former Irish Minister for Children and Youth Affairs), and Gillian Coughlan (Vice-President of the European Committee of the Regions). Some of the key takeaways are summarised below.  

Key EU initiatives

The EU’s Civil Society Strategy centres on protecting and promoting EU values. Gabriella Civico from Civil Society Europe emphasised the importance of CSOs as the driving force behind the Strategy, with organisations ranging in size, geography and focus area being involved in the development of the Strategy. The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has also had – and will continue to have – a key role in shaping the Civil Society Strategy, ensuring that the protection and promotion of fundamental rights remain central. According to Friso Roscam Abbing (Head of the Brussels Liaison Office at FRA), the Strategy must guarantee regular engagement with CSOs. Meetings between CSOs and EU institutions will go from being ad hoc to regular dialogue, and the coherent implementation of the strategy will be a joint effort between CSOs, FRA, and the EESC. Further, the strategy will be in line with 10 Guiding Principles (Partnership, Comprehensiveness, Predictability and Regularity, Transparency, Representation, Inclusivity, Accessibility, Accountability, Resourcing, and Safety) outlined in the Civil Society Strategy.  

The Civil Society Platform, a key part of the Strategy, due to be launched at the end of 2026, will have membership criteria (taken from CSE consultation on the Strategy), which will likely be as follows:

• Transparency 

• Diversity & Inclusion (particularly of underrepresented and/or minority groups 

• Capacity 

• Expertise on Civil Society

Membership will be reviewed regularly. A formal call for expressions of interest for membership is expected in the first half of this year.

A full day was dedicated to European Citizens’ Initiatives (ECI), an important participatory democracy tool that enables citizens to place issues directly on the EU agenda. To date, 14 initiatives have surpassed one million signatures, four of them in 2025 alone. However, the response by EU institutions was deemed to be largely insufficient, with a need for more legislative follow-up. Séamus Boland said that the EESC would like to see a formal mechanism introduced for the Commission to take action on ECIs.

According to Christian Moos (Divisional Director for European and International Affairs in the EESC), strengthening deliberative processes and investing in democratic culture are urgent. In this context, the EU Democracy Shield aims to connect existing instruments and ensure the resilience of European democracy, including the expansion of civic space. The EESC advocates making the Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield a permanent body and proposes establishing a “Democracy Shield Resource Centre”. This could go further by becoming a meaningful hub for structured exchange and by supporting member states during periods of electoral vulnerability.   

Funding for civil society under next EU budget 

A session on “Funding Civic Space” highlighted that the contribution and participation of CSOs across different areas of the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) (2028-2034) is crucial – not only as funding beneficiaries, but also for creating mechanisms that allow oversight by citizens about the use of funds. Some key points highlighted by Elena Calistru (President of the ECO Section in the EESC) and others are as follows: 

• The Commission’s proposed budget of €2 trillion is a lot but not enough for the EU’s ambition and needs.

• AgoraEU, the funding strand for civil society, media and culture (and less than 1% of the total budget) isn’t the only programme that CSOs should be watching – others, such as the Competitiveness Fund and National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs), are relevant too.  While some programmes – like AgoraEU – are managed directly by the EU though the Commission and agencies, programmes like Global Europe rely more on the involvement of CSOs. However, reduced funding for international cooperation and promoting democracy and human rights outside of Europe through the Global Europe programme would also pose issues within Europe. Funding for environmental CSOs has become less visible under the new budgetary structure, and Civil Society Europe is advocating to reinstate funding for CSOs in the area of health. Increased defence expenditure is also relevant for civil society, which needs to make the case that weakened or non-functioning institutions represent the biggest threat to democracy.

• CSOs will have varying capacities to play a role in shaping these different budgetary instruments. It is important that CSOs have their voice heard in all areas of this budget. Mechanisms for monitoring and involvement of CSOs exist, for example under the Partnership Principle, but these need to be reinforced.

• CSOs should also engage at the national level, and there is scope to work with national economic and social councils, which represent different stakeholders, including civil society.  This is the first MFF in which national councils are playing a bigger role: the European Commission is trying to involve them more and has received some positions from the councils of various member states. (In Ireland, the equivalent body is the National Economic and Social Council).

• There is potential for alliances and synergies between “traditional” CSOs and stakeholders from media and the cultural sector, which are “well-organised and understand the need to have an AgoraEU that works for them”.

• Finally, with regard to the monitoring of the MFF, CSOs are encouraged to consider what performance and impact mean for them, also in terms of more qualitative indicators. CSOs could play a role in engaging as partners to develop these or on the monitoring side to ensure money is well spent.

At the close of Civil Society Week, the Civil Society Organisations’ Group of the EESC adopted its priorities for the 2025-2028 term, which include monitoring, contributing to and engaging with the discussions on the MFF.  

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