Where do we stand with the European civil society strategy? – was the title of the conference Ökotárs and its partners held on 12 October in Brussels, in the EFTA House. The event, attended by about 60 representatives of civil society organisations from Central Europe, Brussels-based European networks and EU institution, served a double goal.
The deadline for CSOs to submit their applications to the first calls of Union Values Programme was 2 pm on 20 March 2023. The call for applications was open to cohesive and active civil society organisations that committed themselves to building new partnerships, developing as organisations, and expanding their methodological knowledge while implementing concrete campaigns. The first calls of the three-year programme were named "In Partnership" and "In Development" and were open to applications via the dedicated online interface on the kozosertekeink.hu website. A total of 310 applications were received by the deadline.
We try to fathom the unfathomable: Zsuzsa is not with us any more. She passed away unexpectedly but peacefully on 25 February.
It is no exaggeration to say that her death is a great loss for the entire Hungarian civil society. Without her, there would be no Ökotárs, at least not in the form we know it today. And the same can be said of more than one organisation.
In 2022, the Government of Hungary made some important steps to upgrade the country’s rule of law performance, although not in response to the findings and recommendations included in the 2022 Rule of Law Report, but as part of 1) the conditionality mechanism triggered by the European Commission and 2) the negotiations over Hungary’s Recovery and Resilience Plan. The 17 commitments made by the Hungarian government, embedded in the altogether 27 socalled “super” milestones, relate to the Hungarian control system aiming at the protection of the financial interests of the European Union.
The 2021 edition of the CSO Sustainability Index of Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia was published by the United States International Development Office, USAID. The report is prepared in cooperation with local experts and organizations each year. In compiling the chapter on Hungary the Ökotárs Foundation was the partner of USAID again. Download the report on Hungary here.
According to civil society organisations, the bill submitted by the Government which would amend the rules of public consultation “in the interest of reaching an agreement with the European Commission” offers only pretend solutions. Strengthening public participation in lawmaking is an important goal, but it would require, first and foremost, real governmental will, meaningful implementation of existing laws, and much more effective guarantees than those included in the draft law.
Democracy and civil society have a two-way relationship.
One the one hand, civil society through its diverse roles is an important contributor to upholding and improving democracy: its organisations (CSOs) act as channels and facilitators of citizen engagement, participation and activism, help educate the younger generations and provide services to vulnerable groups so that they can too practice and enjoy the fundamental and human rights that are due to all of us.
On the other, civil society needs a democratic enabling environment to thrive, composed of a stable and beneficial legislation, transparent and unbiased financing, structured dialogue with public institutions and a positive political atmosphere, among others.
The Reclaim Our civil Space! project aims at addressing the trends of democratic backsliding and shrinking civil space observed for the past years particularly in Central and Southeastern Europe. The project implemented with 9 partners in 7 Central European countries. This workshop aims at further brainstorming about the idea, the need and the potential content of a comprehensive EU civil society strategy proposed earlier as well as to discuss steps and possible joint actions towards its approval by EU institutions...
Almost two months after the decisive general elections at the beginning of April, it is time to take stock of what happened, to look at the European context and discuss next steps. This conference will be the closing event of a 2-year long project managed byÖkotárs in partnership with Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Civil College and Power of Humanity Foundation aimed at building the capacities of Hungarian civil society organisations (CSOs engaged in activities and campaigns around elections, both locally and nationally. Within this framework we conducted surveys, held trainings and workshops, developed online and visual tools.
According to the Blue Book[1] describing the priority sectors and programme areas of the 2014-22 period “Support from the EEA and Norway Grants to civil society reflects a firm recognition of the sector’s role as a fundamental building block of democratic governance, human rights and social cohesion across Europe. (…) Civil society organisations (CSOs) mobilise participation in civic life, and play a key role in promoting active citizen engagement in decision-making at local, national and European levels.”
The European Commission released its Social Economy Action Plan on 9 December, which recognises the important role of foundations and other social economy actors in offering concrete and innovative solutions to key challenges we are facing and their key role to rebuild after the crises. For Philanthropy Europe Association (Philea), a convergence of Dafne and EFC, this marks a moment of celebration for the philanthropic and the wider social economy sector who have long advocated for this policy.
