European society is under immense strain — from the cost-of-living crisis to housing shortages, energy poverty, and a heightened sense of insecurity. These vulnerabilities make our societies more susceptible to disinformation, manipulation, and division, exploited by those who want to undermine the very fabric of society. At the same time, civic space is shrinking, participation is declining, and public confidence in democracy is weakening. The latest poll conducted by the European Movement International shows a troubling drop in consistent support for democratic values across several EU Member States. In this environment, where both internal and external actors seek to exploit social tensions and undermine trust, civil society becomes more vital than ever. Yet it is being asked to do more with shrinking resources and reduced funding, while under attack from authoritarian political movements who are intent to assault its legitimacy and undermine its ability to perform its central role.
A vibrant, independent, and well-supported civil society is indispensable to protecting Europe’s democratic resilience — and to ensuring that our Union can withstand the pressures and threats it now faces. The EU has taken steps in the right direction with a variety of important, albeit still very vague initiatives, such as the introduction of the European Democracy Shield and the EU Civil Society Strategy. Together, they offer a more structured approach to early warning, threat detection, media freedom, and civic space protection. Yet their success depends on strong implementation, clear governance, and genuine partnership with civil society. Funding gaps, unresolved institutional structures and risks of duplicating existing mechanisms threaten to weaken these promising initiatives. At the same time, cuts to key programmes and operating grants for civil society organisations across Europe, including those grants supporting pro-democracy organisations, contradict the Union’s stated ambition to strengthen resilience at home.
As member organisations of the European Movement International (EMI) representing stakeholders from across society, we call on the EU and its Member States to:
- Guarantee stable and sufficient funding for civil society – ensure that EU programmes such as CERV and LIFE, as well as other democracy-support instruments, receive expanded, predictable, and multi-annual financing that enables both large and grassroots organisations to operate independently and securely.
- Strengthen and fully implement the European Democracy Shield – establish clear governance for the European Centre for Democratic Resilience, avoid duplication with existing EU structures, and ensure civil society participation in early-warning, monitoring, and responses to hybrid threats.
- Deliver on the EU Civil Society Strategy – operationalise the promised Civil Society Platform, improve access to funding, reduce administrative burdens, and systematically monitor threats to civic space in all Member States.
- Protect civic freedoms across the Union – uphold the rights to association, assembly, and free expression; defend independent media; and ensure that civil society organisations can operate without harassment, intimidation, or political interference.
- Embed civil society in Europe’s strategic resilience – recognise that democracy and security are inseparable, and that civil society must be treated as a strategic partner in countering disinformation, strengthening democratic participation, and building societal resilience.
Now is not the time to sideline, defund and weaken Europe’s civic and democratic forces. A strong, independent civil society is integral to Europe’s strategic autonomy — and indispensable to the future of European democracy.
