About: civil society
Top EU court strikes down Hungary’s NGO financing law
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said on Thursday (18 June) that the restrictions imposed on the financing of civil organisations by foreigners in Hungary were "discriminatory and unjustified" and went against EU law.
Byung-Chul Han: COVID-19 has reduced us to a ‘society of survival’
“Survival will become an absolute, as though we were living in a permanent state of war”. That is how South Korean philosopher Byung-Chul Han described the world after COVID-19, in an interview with Efe: “a society of survival that loses all sense of the good life”, one where “enjoyment is also sacrificed for health”.
A Letter from the Frontline – Croatian civil society faces a double crisis
Civil society organisations have been badly hit by the COVID-19 crisis. In Croatia the earthquake on 22 March increased the burden for NGOs and charities. Cvjetana Plavsa-Matic, urges the EU to reflect the needs of NGOs and charities in the COVID-19 bail-out packages.
There is room to democratize EU integration process in Kosovo
It is not surprising why Kosovo lags behind in the EU enlargement process, having in mind that many civic society actors were excluded from previous consultation processes, write Svjetlana Ramic Markovic and Agon Demjaha. Svjetlana Ramic Markovic is MA International...
Civil Society – the EU’s best partner in Central Asia
The EU needs to put civil society at the heart of its strategy to rebuild its political presence in Central Asia, writes Barbara von Ow-Freytag.
NGOs hail opinion urging EU court to annul Hungary’s restrictions on foreign financing
Human rights watchdogs hailed on Tuesday (14 January) an opinion from the advocate general of the EU's top court which said restrictions imposed by Hungary on the financing of civil organisations from abroad breach EU law.
French vineyards fear losing land to new pesticide-free zones
Pesticide-free zones, implemented in France since 1 January 2020, have angered winegrowers, who are losing a great deal of surface area, while civil society still considers them insufficient. EURACTIV France reports.
Commissioner Várhelyi: Youth to become new ‘focal point’ in Eastern Partnership
In one of his first public appearances, Olivér Várhelyi, Commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement, said on Thursday (4 December) reviving civil society and economy by reaching out to youth would be his priority in the context of Eastern Partnership.
Corruption in Romania: a European affair
The situation in Romania is partly hopeful: numerous civic movements have emerged in the country and an outstanding anti-corruption movement is growing in the society, especially among the young generations, write Elena Denisa Petrescu and Yannis Karamitsios.
Time to oppose centrifugal forces that affect European societies
The world is currently experiencing rapid technological, economic, political and social change. The consequences of these developments are also being felt in Germany and Europe, write Andreas Grau and Julia Tegeler.
Is it fair? How social cohesion in Europe can be strengthened
The prosperity gap in Europe is widening. Despite the general upswing since the economic crisis in 2008, an increasing number of European citizens are at risk of poverty. At the same time, globalisation and digitisation are changing almost every aspect of our lives.
Volunteering initiatives build new society in Ukraine
In various initiatives to build a new civil society, the communication between Ukraine and international allies wouldn’t be possible without the English language, writes Kate Rohozhnykova.
How to rectify Georgia’s statehood
It is a well-known Georgian secret, that the billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili runs the country’s affairs through his “Georgian dream” political party, police and judiciary and even some other political parties and most of the mass media, writes Nino Burjanadze.
Serbia’s civil sector, NGOs demand more rights
NGOs in Serbia have adopted a joint document aimed at preserving the civil society and its freedoms in the EU candidate country, after seeing a growing number of physical assaults on their activists and verbal abuse in pro-government media. EURACTIV Serbia reports.
German charities fight to stay ‘politically active’ despite ATTAC ruling
A German court stripped anti-globalisation association ATTAC of its charity status last January. Environmental groups now fear they could be next because they are politically active, EURACTIV Germany reports.
EU must walk the talk on promoting values
The future of Europe will depend on the attitudes of ordinary citizens. These attitudes will determine what kind of policy agreements are possible in Brussels but also decide on the fundamental question: if the European project should be continued or scrapped altogether, write Jan Jakub Chromiec and Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz.
Citizens and sustainable development are big losers in EU’s next research programme
The Commission has unveiled its proposal for Horizon Europe 2020 and this comes at a critical time for the EU. But there needs to be close monitoring of the research agenda set, as current proposals could have dire consequences for democracy and sustainable development, writes Jill McArdle
EESC chief: Western Balkans’ EU path driven by civil society empowerment
The success of the accession process of the Western Balkan countries needs “meaningful involvement” of civil society organisations in the integration process, Luca Jahier, president of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), told EURACTIV.
Auditors blast EU’s Turkey membership funding
Massive European Union funding to help Turkey's stalled membership bid has "barely addressed" key problems with democracy and the media, the bloc's spending watchdog said today (14 March).
How to turn citizens’ consultations into a success
Four conditions should be met if we want to make citizens' consultations a success and avoid turning the greatly anticipated initiative launched by France's President Emmanuel Macron and backed by 26 countries into a boomerang, which would irremediably drain trust in the EU project, writes Thierry Libaert.
Parliament doesn’t want to turn back time anymore
MEPs voted for the abolishment of Daylight Saving Time on February 8, especially since this would benefit human health.
A crazy idea for a Western Balkans innovation agenda
If the EU plans to use the same old carrots and sticks to push the region further into enlargement territory, we are all in a situation ripe for disappointment, writes Georgi Kamov.
EU needs to fund resilience against far-right surge
The EU should support independent media, education and civil society to halt the far-right’s erosion of the rule of law and fundamental rights, argues Israel Butler.