In July 2025, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) adopted a pivotal opinion urging the European Commission to develop a comprehensive EU strategy to support, protect and empower civil society. This comes amid growing threats to democratic values and shrinking civic space in several Member States.

The EESC’s strategy proposes three pillars:

1. A safe and enabling environment – legal protections and safeguards to prevent erosion of civic space
2. Sustainable and independent funding – multiannual, flexible financial support and removal of legal and administrative hurdles
3. Strengthened civic participation – a new interinstitutional agreement and a civil society platform hosted by the EESC to foster dialogue on democracy, rights and the rule of law.

‘Civil society is a cornerstone of democracy. We must ensure it has the space, resources and recognition it needs to thrive,’ said rapporteurs Pietro Barbieri, Peter Schmidt and Christa Schweng.

The proposed platform would host annual conferences, monitor progress via a scoreboard and biennial reports and be piloted jointly by the European Commission, the EESC and its Liaison Group.

Positioning itself as the EU’s ‘house of participatory democracy’, the EESC calls for regular reviews with the Commission, stronger engagement from the European Parliament and Council, and clear benchmarks to assess the quality of civil dialogue.

The opinion affirms that civil society is central to democratic renewal. By investing in structured dialogue and empowering CSOs, the EU can build a more inclusive and resilient EU. (lm)