European Economic
and Social Committee
The third edition of Civil Society Week took place from 2 to 5 March 2026 at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in Brussels, under the theme People, Democracy, Resilience – Our Future!
At a pivotal moment for Europe, the EESC brought together a broad range of voices — including civil society organisations, citizens, EU institutions, national Economic and Social Councils and stakeholders from across Europe, as well as candidate countries — to reflect on how to strengthen democracy, civic participation and social cohesion. Over four days, high-level debates, participatory sessions and interactive workshops focused on supporting people, protecting democratic values and preparing the Union for the future.
Members of the EESC Civil Society Organisations’ Group actively contributed to these discussions, taking part in several panel debates and exchanges throughout the week. Read below, a wrap-up of their interventions.
Societal resilience emerges when individuals can transcend self-interest, cooperate, and trust the collective good. Personal resilience grows through daily self-development, perseverance, and constructive challenge. In educating for both, civil society organisations have an essential role to play.
Social cohesion begins with trust, and trust is built through meaningful participation. Civil dialogue is not a formality; it is a cornerstone of democratic legitimacy and societal resilience, particularly in times of crisis.
Social exclusion is the result of systemic governance failures, not individual shortcomings. When such exclusion persists, it erodes social cohesion, undermines trust in institutions, and weakens democratic values.
As extremists grow louder, the democratic centre must stand firm. The European Democracy Shield should unite moderates across Europe and translate our shared values into real, enforceable safeguards.
Vice-President Pietro Barbieri
We are part of the process of building the Platform for Civil Dialogue—both as the EESC and as the Civil Society Organisations’ Group. Now is the time to roll up our sleeves and help shape something that is truly participatory and meaningful.
The EU Strategy for civil society, adopted in November 2025 in the response to over 10 years advocacy by CSOs across the EU, is a symbolic yet important recognition of the fundamental role civil society plays in promoting, strengthening and defending our democracies. Acknowledging the growing challenges, restrictions, and threats faced by CSOs and human-rights defenders in both EU member states and enlargement countries, the Strategy commits to elevating civil society as a partner in governance and policymaking at EU and national levels by enhancing and supplementing civic-dialogue frameworks, strengthening protection mechanisms, and expanding and streamlining funding opportunities to ensure civil society can fulfil its function freely, independently and effectively in an open, safe, and enabling civic space. It is now up to CSOs, the EESC, and the European Commission to ensure that these commitments are translated into practical, results-oriented structures and processes, so that the Strategy does not remain merely another well-intentioned declaration.
Social economy entities in Europe constitute a genuine social infrastructure that nourishes and roots democratic principles in real life, not only through the promotion of active citizenship, social solidarity and commitment to the common good, but also by embodying them, making the economy democratic too.
In this era of enormous wealth concentration and growing inequality, cooperatives are the main form of enterprise that distributes wealth where it is created, plays a fundamental role in combating poverty and is based on corporate governance founded on the principle of democratic participation.
President Cillian Lohan
We strongly support the European Commission Democracy package - in particular the Democracy Shield - but the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Committee of the Regions must be fully involved, for civil society empowerment and all citizens' benefit. That’s why we back the Civil Society Platform.
Europe is rearming, and rightly so. But the countries that lost their democracies didn't fall to tanks — they fell to captured courts, captured media, and civic organizations that ran out of money mid-battle. The next MFF will show whether we've understood that lesson: defence spending and democratic infrastructure are not two separate budget lines. They're the same investment.
Vice-President Ariane Rodert
Volunteers, civil society and social economy organisations are crucial in strengthen Europe’s resilience, both when a crisis hits by mobilizing rapid support, and through their social mission and day-to-day activities fostering social cohesion, inclusive participation and providing locally rooted solutions that help communities adapt, recover, and thrive. To fully capture their contributions to resilience, civil society space must be better protected and expanded with enabling policies and support to ensure meaningful engagement.
Vice-President Pietro Barbieri
There is no doubt that care work is largely carried out by women from non-European countries. They form an indispensable workforce, yet their contribution is often inadequately recognised—frequently excluded from national collective bargaining agreements and, in some cases, from national regulatory frameworks altogether. Much more must be done to protect these workers from exploitation and abuse in all its forms.
