EU institutions must urgently implement a structured civil dialogue and align with Article 11 of EU Treaty

By the EESC Civil Society Organisations' Group

On 24 January, European civil society sent an open letter to the presidents of the European Commission and European Parliament, and to the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The signatories of the letter urged the three main institutions of the European Union (EU) involved in EU decision-making to take concrete measures to implement an open, transparent and regular dialogue with civil society organisations, as set out in Article 11 of the Treaty on European Union, in all policy areas.

The open letter was initiated by the EESC's Civil Society Organisations' Group and Civil Society Europe, and includes specific proposals for implementation. The letter gained the support of a total of 156 signatories from 26 Member States. The signatories included 39 European networks, 85 national organisations and 60 Members of the EESC's Civil Society Organisations' Group.

Civil dialogue remains patchy and unstructured across the EU institutions, despite legal provisions. This is why the signatories of the open letter #EUCivilDialogueNow are calling on the EU institutions to:

• initiate an inter-institutional agreement on civil dialogue;
• establish within each institution leadership positions in charge of relations with civil society;
• encourage and promote greater cooperation between civil and social actors.

These efforts must build on the recommendations of the Conference on the Future of Europe. As a first step, the signatories suggested a European Commission communication on strengthening civil dialogue at EU level.

The open letter is available in 24 languages at: https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/agenda/our-events/events/eu-civil-dialogue-now/open-letter.

More information can be found in the press release announcing the open letter, available in 24 languages, at: https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/agenda/our-events/events/eu-civil-dialogue-now.