Yesterday, La Strada International participated in the launch of the European Civic Forum’s annual Civic Space Report 2026 at the European Parliament in Brussels. The event, “The New Brussels Effect: Why the EU Increasingly Shapes the Space for Civil Society, and How to Respond“, brought together civil society organisations, human rights defenders, UN officials, and MEPs from the Greens/EFA, S&D, and Renew Europe. We are grateful to MEPs Tineke Strik, Fabienne Keller, Rasmus Nordqvist, Raquel García Hermida-van der Walle, and Ana Catarina Mendes for being present and for creating space for civil society to be heard.
As MEP Ana Catarina Mendes put it: “Democracy is responsibility”, and and she joined voices with the other MEPs present to make clear that civil society plays a crucial and irreplaceable role in protecting and strengthening democracy, while acknowledging the growing obstacles we face. The MEPs recognised civil society as essential watchdogs and accountability actors, as representatives of citizens’ realities, particularly those of vulnerable communities, as organisations that fill the gaps left by public services, and as a vital bridge between realities on the ground and policymakers.
The report clearly shows that restrictions on civic space are no longer isolated exceptions. They are becoming structural, both at national level and increasingly at EU level, creating real risks that restrictive dynamics become embedded in European-wide law and practice. The Civic Space Report identifies key trends that together paint the picture of Europe – once a beacon of democracy – now experiencing the erosion of its democratic institutions:
- Manufacturing suspicion. Far-right parties, often supported by mainstream parties, have escalated efforts to delegitimise civil society organisations and their funding. At EU level, a scrutiny working group in the European Parliament is targeting organisations working on migration, weaponising parliamentary mechanisms to spread suspicion rather than seeking genuine accountability.
- Advocacy defunded and delegitimised. Organisations that engage in advocacy critical of governments are increasingly being pushed to choose between toning down their messages or reducing their visibility.
- The sovereignty scare. Under the guise of transparency, organisations are being labelled “foreign agents” and subjected to restrictive legal frameworks modelled on authoritarian legislation from outside Europe.
- Peaceful assembly under attack. The repression of protest movements has become more normalised, with laws enacted in at least seven EU member states that criminalise or significantly restrict peaceful protest. This represents a sustained, continent-wide pattern.
- Solidarity criminalised. The systematic criminalisation of solidarity with people on the move, linked to the tightening of borders and the closure of legal pathways.
- Pervasive surveillance. Governments are expanding their data-gathering and monitoring powers, facilitated by surveillance technologies. Documented cases of prolonged police infiltration into civic movements, for example in Italy, Finland, and Spain, illustrate how far this has gone.
- Civil society sidelined. Access to information and structured dialogue with institutions is increasingly limited, even as civil society’s practical expertise is more needed than ever.
And yet, civil society holds the line. Despite these pressures, organisations across Europe have continued to adapt, resist, and secure measurable impact.
La Strada International and our 33 member organisations across 24 European countries are living these trends and have been raising concerns about the legal and practical challenges affecting civil society’s daily work in recent years. Challenges range from changes in the legal environment, challenges in funding and access to resources, obstacles in accessing policymaking, and threats and attacks against members of staff. Of course situations differ per country, but LSI members in Turkey, Poland, Ukraine, Serbia, North Macedonia, Bosnia Herzegovina, and our former member in Belarus, which was forced to close due to governmental pressure, have frequently reported such difficulties.
The report also highlights that several EU member states, including Belgium, Finland, France, and Germany, have cut public funding for civil society. Civic space ratings for France, Germany, and Italy were downgraded by the CIVICUS Monitor from “narrowed” to “obstructed”.
The last years have been particularly challenging for us and our members. Numerous funding proposals aimed at supporting our core work, advocacy, research, and the direct assistance our members provide to victims of human trafficking, have been rejected. La Strada International and organisations across sectors are spending enormous time and resources on applications that are then turned down, regardless the recognition for the importance of our work to assist trafficked and exploited persons across Europe.
We call on EU institutions to ensure the legal and practical protection of civic space and to simplify access to funding, while ensuring timely and transparent processes, and providing stable, core, and long-term support rather than fragmented, project-based funding. We also call for civil society organisations to be systematically included in decision-making processes at every stage, from research and development through to implementation and monitoring.