Community-based organisations such as CIGS play a fundamental role in strengthening democratic values in Europe: from fighting social inequalities, through defending civil liberties, to protecting the environment. They are natural allies of European institutions defending values such as human rights, dignity, solidarity, equality and the rule of law. Unfortunately, in many countries, civic space has been shrinking and civil society is under pressure. The violation of democratic principles, the weakening of the rule of law and the erosion of checks and balances are dangerous trends observed in our countries that harm citizens and society. Therefore, the inclusion of actions to strengthen civil society in the European Union’s programmes and policies is crucial and cannot wait any longer. We firmly believe that to effectively defend democracy, civil society should become a protected European value and a resource in and of itself.
Through the creation and dissemination of the Civil Society Strategy, we want the collective voice of civil society organisations to be heard in Brussels and the proposed strategy’s underlying principles and recommendations to be incorporated into European policy.