The shrinking space for civil society in Europe

During its first March 2022 plenary session, Parliament is due to vote on an own-initiative report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), advocating new measures to protect and boost civil society organisations' participation in the democratic life of the European Union. Acknowledging the contribution civil society organisations (CSOs) make to promoting the EU values enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), and in particular fundamental rights, the report recognises the challenges CSOs are facing, not least in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.