There has been one setback after another for civic space in the EU over the course of 2023. I could cite – in no particular order – the EU Foreign Agents Law, which could impact non-EU sources of funding for CSOs. Or the fact that MEP Pieper is again trying to get a report through the European Parliament to ‘enhance’ transparency and accountability of NGOs benefitting from EU funding. Or the Code of Conduct (Rules of Procedure) in the European Parliament which are already having significant impacts on our members and partners in terms of who can meet with MEPs. And these are but three examples

CONCORD recently partnered with the European Parliament in the organisation of their 3-day Beyond Growth conference. The event apparently drew 2000 people to join physically, while 2000 more were online. That is an enormous success.

CONCORD hosted our first ever Equality Day this month, at which many practitioners, EU officials and CONCORD members came together see what more we could do.

The one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was marked by numerous articles in all
sorts of scholarly (and less so) journals, and pretty much the same question was on everyone’s lips:
what will it take to stop the war?

The European Development Days, or EDD, is a development fair that is particularly useful to meet and to network, but also to exchange ideas and – hopefully – to learn. I’ll come back to exchange of ideas, but on the learning front, this year’s EDD was certainly a missed opportunity to demystify the Global Gateway – or rather, to go beyond the slogans.

I am struck, again and again, by how governments of all colours and persuasions – but clearly some more than others – can question the role of civil society. And not just question our role, but actively undermine it.

As International Women’s Day comes around again, and the European Union is facing a historic situation with war at its borders, I’ve been mulling over, and talking with colleagues about, the merits of feminist foreign policy and wondering whether the EU should adopt one.

The EU-AU Summit is a mere three weeks away, but civil society has been shut out from having any real influence over the shape or likely outcomes of the Summit. Our Director reflects on EU institutional behind-the-scenes power play and how it can affect civil society involvement.

The fifth UN Conference to support Least Developed Countries (LDC5, as it’s known) is around the corner. This is another moment – following hot on the heels of the disappointing COP26 – when the EU must step up. Given the extremely difficult situation that LDCs are facing, the EU must not only meet previous pledges but go further. Unrealistic? Maybe. Necessary? Definitely.