On Tuesday 15 February the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties approved by 53 votes to 10 with 6 abstentions the draft report by Hungarian Anna Júlia Donáth (Renew Europe) on the crucial role of civil society organisations, which aims to alert public authorities and European institutions to “the degradation of the civic space across the EU, policies that hamper the functioning of civil society organisations (CSOs), their access to sustainable funding and their ability to participate in decision-making”.
The adopted report specifically asks the Commission to reserve a chapter in its annual report on the rule of law in the EU27 for these CSOs. In the report, MEPs condemn “harassment, smearing, stigmatisation, criminalisation and scapegoating, which undermine the very foundations of democracy” and call for a ‘European Civic Space Index’.
They also call on the Commission to develop a strategy that includes common minimum legal and administrative standards for CSOs, a statute for European cross-border associations and non-profit organisations or the extension of flexible access to EU funding.
The European Parliament committee also expressed “serious concern” about the emergence of government-organised NGOs. The report is expected to be voted on in March in plenary.
Link to the report: https://aeur.eu/f/c2 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)