Building an enabling environment for democratic resilience

Draft agenda

Facilitator/moderator: Hanna Surmatz

16:30 - 16:50

Welcome by Hanna Surmatz and updates on:

• CSS by Ewa Kulik-Bielinska
• SEAP by Brigitte Fellahi-Brognaux or Miia Rossi, (DG EMPL)
• Taxation by Giuseppe Guerini (EESC, Cooperatives Europe, Social Economy Europe)
• ECBA by MEP Sergey Lagodisnky (tbc)

16:50 - 17:30

Breakout sessions on the four topics with resource people from the sector and policy makers on – what can be done to move these files and how can you engage at national and EU levels? :

• SEAP - Cooperatives and Social economy recommendations – led by Sarah de Heusch, Social Economy Europe
• Civil Society Strategy - recommendations by civil society – led by Riccardo Rossella, Civil Society Europe and Sawsane Djazouli, Diaspora Vote
• ECBA – led by Mathieu de Poorter, CEDAG
• Taxation including cross border philanthropy –  led by Julia Klucynska, Polish Donors Forum and Philea
• Deregulation and protection of civic space – led by Ella Jakubowska,  European Digital Rights and Giada Negri, European Civic Forum

17:30 – 18:00

Report-back from breakout sessions, moderated by Hanna Surmatz, with responses from Brigitte Fellahi-Brognaux or Miia Rossi, Ewa Kulik-Bielińska, Giuseppe Guerini, and Sergey Lagodinsky.

Concluding remarks by Cillian Lohan, President of the Civil Society Organisations’ Group of the EESC.

Civil society players are key pillars of democracy, as is the social economy, since it allows a vibrant democracy to exist through the public’s active participation in associations, foundations and other social economy organisations. 

A strong democracy requires enabling frameworks and concrete support.

However, civil society – including philanthropy – are increasingly under attack across Europe. More broadly, support and enabling frameworks for social economy players are losing traction in the EU agenda, while a push for deregulation is tearing up many of the EU’s popular achievements that protect people’s fundamental rights and wellbeing. 

In this context, the European Civil Society Strategy promises to open up new spaces for dialogue and confirms the need for civil society to operate in an enabling environment, such as a regulatory environment and policies that protect associations and philanthropic freedoms and facilitate donations, including a legal framework that recognises foundations and associations (also across borders), as well as ensuring that CSOs and donors can benefit from tax incentives for donations that Member States wish to provide. Furthermore, civil society organisations are part of the wider social economy ecosystem, made up of entities such as cooperatives, mutuals, associations and foundations. The Social Economy Action Plan (SEAP) is an overarching enabling framework for social economy organisations, which needs to be fully implemented. 

With the next steps focusing on implementation of the civil society strategy alongside the equality strategies and the SEAP mid-term evaluation, how can civil society work to ensure that the Commission`s commitments are upheld.