News Item

Reclaiming civic space

On 12 October, FRA presented an overview of civic space challenges in the EU at the conference ‘Where do we stand with the European civil society strategy?’. FRA gave a preview of the findings from its civic space report.

FRA described the challenges, progress and ways forward in the legal environment, access to resources, access to decision-making and participation, and threats and attacks.

The conference marked the end of the EEA and Norway Grants-funded ‘Reclaim our civil space!’ programme. Ten civil society organisations from eight countries - Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Norway as an expert partner were in the programme.

The project addressed democratic backsliding and shrinking civil space in Central and Southeastern Europe. It supported local organisations building capacities, facilitated cross-border networking, and connected local and Brussels-based organisations with a view of bringing their concerns to the EU level.