Democracy does not collapse overnight. It decays slowly, often quietly, as civic space narrows and accountability fades. This is what is happening in Europe right now.
The space that citizens and organisations need to participate in and to challenge power is shrinking.
As Alberto Alemanno wrote last month in EUobserver, NGOs in Europe “die slowly.” Another column asked what happens when they disappear: power without scrutiny and democracy without a pulse.
But does the EU understand the risk, and is it acting fast enough?
The European Commission’s new Civil Society Strategy is meant to be the answer. Promised by Ursula von der Leyen in 2024, it aims to protect civic space, strengthen participation, and secure funding for NGOs.
On paper, it sounds promising. But in practice, it is deeply undermined by the recent Commission’s own actions.
The new Civil Society Strategy promises dialogue and proposes a new civil society platform. But the gesture rings hollow when the commission sidelines civil society in its own policymaking at the same time.
Recently, “strategic dialogues” have become a new space for stakeholder engagement.
But their hasty, non-transparent, and insufficiently inclusive setup frequently results in industry voices outweighing those of civil society.
In parallel, Omnibus proposals have been pushed forward without public consultations, normally required under the EU’s Better Regulation guidelines.
The commission also announced that it wants to “simplify” the very guidelines it has ignored so far. This means fewer opportunities for citizens and NGOs to be heard.
But these guidelines are designed to facilitate evidence-based, democratic lawmaking. Ignoring them is not a technical matter; it’s a democratic problem. The EU Ombudswoman, Teresa Anjinho, has already opened an inquiry to investigate the Commission’s doubtful approach.
Participation in democracy cannot be optional; it must be guaranteed and transparent and should never be ignored.
Healthy democracies rely on watchdogs - journalists, NGOs, citizens - who hold decision-makers accountable. But they also rely on something else: rules that are predictable, enforced, and applied equally. When these rules weaken, trust collapses, and impunity spreads. And areas like environmental protection and social justice are always the first ones to be affected.
Large corporations and foreign governments operate permanent lobbying machines in Brussels, while most NGOs survive on short, uncertain grants
Without clear laws, people cannot defend their rights. Rights erode, accountability weakens, and democratic institutions hollow out. Access to justice becomes a chimera.
As pressure grows to boost competitiveness and cut the “red tape”, the commission has embraced a fast journey toward “simplification”. The promise: fewer burdens, clearer rules, happier businesses.
But the problem in Europe is not too much regulation, it is the lack of consistent implementation and enforcement.
Yet, instead of tackling that, the commission is rushing to simplify everything from the Common Agricultural Policy to sustainability reporting rules. These changes are made without proper impact assessment, weakening concrete environmental and social protections for people.
Less procedures also mean less evidence, and less accountability. This is not simplification; it is demolition disguised as efficiency.
The commission claims it wants civil society to be a partner in policymaking.
But it shies away from defending NGOs against recent political attacks and fails to secure the stable funding that they need to survive.
Large corporations and foreign governments operate permanent lobbying machines in Brussels, while most NGOs survive on short, uncertain grants.
Under the disguise of “simplification”, the next EU budget proposes to discontinue the LIFE programme. This is the only EU fund dedicated to environmental and climate action that also supports the operational activities of environmental NGOs.
It is easy to say that you want more participation, while cutting the funding to a point where civil society cannot function. Who will be left to participate?
If NGOs cannot operate, they cannot bring science, evidence, or citizen voices into EU policymaking. Without stable funding, local groups will be completely absent from Brussels, and their voices muted.
Disinformation, social divide, and distance from institutions will only worsen.
If civil society is truly a “pillar of democracy”, as the strategy claims, the EU must prove it with multi-annual, independent, politically protected funding. This is not charity. It is a democratic infrastructure.
Europeans already worry that the EU is too distant, too complex, and non-transparent. Instead of addressing these concerns, the rush for a “simplified” Europe could make the situation even worse.
Claiming you want more space for civil society to participate while reducing funding and weakening rules is hypocritical at best — and dangerous at worst. Because these are the mechanisms that make democracy crumble from the inside. What will be left is a hollow coat that resembles democracy, with no backbone to keep it up.
Will the EU wake up and act before it is too late?
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Anouk Puymartin is head of policy at BirdLife International, where Saskia Pelzer is communications officer.
Anouk Puymartin is head of policy at BirdLife International, where Saskia Pelzer is communications officer.