The EESC's flagship Civil Society Prize has been awarded 15 times to date. It rewards projects that take a particularly creative and innovative approach to issues that are very relevant to the EU.

Applications can be submitted by any civil society organisations officially registered within the European Union and acting at local, regional, national or European level. The prize is also open to individuals who reside in the EU, as well as to companies registered or operating within the EU, provided that their projects are strictly not-for-profit.

All eligible initiatives and projects have to be carried out in the EU. They must have already been implemented or be ongoing before the closing date for applications.

The aim of the prize is to raise awareness about civil society's outstanding contribution to creating a European identity and citizenship and promoting the common values that bolster European integration.

A different topic is chosen each year. In 2023, it was projects that focused on mental health. In 2022, the EESC exceptionally awarded a prize for two topics: youth and Ukraine. In 2021, the prize honoured climate projects promoting a just transition. In 2020, the EESC replaced its Civil Society Prize with a one-off Civil Solidarity Prize dedicated to the fight against COVID-19. Other topics in the past have included gender equality and women's empowerment, European identities and cultural heritage, and migration.

In October 2024, the EESC launched its 15th Civil Society Prize on combating harmful polarisation of European society.

The theme of polarisation is more urgent than ever. Amid multiple overlapping crises — including the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia's war in Ukraine and widespread social and economic instability — mistrust in public institutions and authorities has grown, breeding harmful polarisation.

Civil society plays a key role in combating this mistrust and monitoring hotbeds of online and offline polarisation, improving social cohesion and upholding democratic ideals. Together with public authorities and civil society, it may help protect liberal democracy from authoritarian trends.

For this reason, the EESC has decided to award its latest Civil Society Prize to non-profit initiatives that intervene effectively by implementing preventive, early-warning and (where needed) de-escalation measures which ensure that democratic values are upheld, polarisation does not become harmful and one-sided narratives do not lead to acts of violence.