Welcome to our August - September 2025 newsletter! As we return from the summer period, read more to find out about our work on the EU Civil Society Strategy, our stance on the State of the European Union speech, and more!

Shaping an EU Strategy for Civil Society

CSE, with support from our Working Group on Civic Space and Fundamental Rights, contributed to the European Commission’s open public consultation on the strategy. In it, we outline the steps needed to build a strategy that genuinely delivers for European civil society.

Complementing this, on September 23rd, Gabriella Civico, CSE President, participated in an exchange within the European Parliament’s LIBE Committee on the strategy. CSE spoke alongside representatives from the European Commission, the EU Fundamental Rights Agency, and the Conference of INGOs, who all contributed to the session with their perspectives on the strategy.

Throughout her intervention, several points were highlighted, such as:

• This strategy must provide a long-term framework for supporting civil society
• Several challenges within each pillar of the strategy must be meaningfully addressed
• The strategy is about responding to citizens’ needs and protecting democracy itself

We thank the LIBE Committee for including us in this exchange and look forward to working further on the strategy.

Read more here: bit.ly/45QDRMY

Where is Civil Society in 2025's State of the European Union Speech? 

While we welcome several aspects of the speech, we are disappointed by some points such as the absence of recognition of civil society organisations, the narrow focus on the protection of borders and security when addressing migration, and the lack of commitment to combating climate change. 

There must be a strong dedication to promoting and supporting civic space and civil society in next year's political agenda and beyond. We stand ready to do our part in making this a reality.

Read our full reaction here: bit.ly/41MAm7E

CSE Participates in the Final Conference of the ECEM Project (Enriching Communities Through Engaged Mobilities)

On the 26th September, CSE was a panelist at the final conference of the project Enriching Communities Through Engaged Mobilities, led by a consortium of student organisations, university networks and academic exchange centres.

The panel discussed the importance of the local engagement of students during academic mobility, the linkage between student local engagement and civic space, and the role universities can have in promoting and supporting student civic engagement during mobility periods.

The panel was moderated by Martin Bogdan, Academic Cooperation Association, and had as additional speakers Joana Freitas, Salto Participation Centre (Harno), Coordinator for Strategy and Outreach, and Tomaž Deželan, University of Ljubljana, Professor of Political Science.

Survey on Quality Management for Civil Society Organisations

As part of the Co-quality network, CSE is undertaking a European study to understand better how small and medium-sized Third Sector Organisations (TSOs) approach Quality Management (QM). 

Why this matters
The European Third Sector is navigating a period of significant challenge, and this study — part of the CoQuality initiative — aims to generate practical, comparative insights on QM practices across Europe. The results will inform future support tools, advocacy efforts, and collaborative learning for TSOs.

How you can help
You could kindly disseminate the survey invitation to the CSOs in your network. To make this easy, we’ve created a short, ready-to-send message (EN/FR/ES) that you can copy into your email, newsletter, or website (see below).

Template Survey Invitation for CSOs
Subject: Your experience matters! Help shape the future of quality in the European Third Sector.

We invite you to take part in a European-wide survey that is a key part of the CoQuality project (https://coquality.org). CoQuality is a European network dedicated to promoting a culture of quality and impact in the European Third Sector through collaborative learning and advocacy. 

• It takes just 8 - 10 minutes
• Your answers are anonymous and GDPR-compliant
• Available in English / French / Spanish
• Survey link
• Deadline: 16th October!

Why participate?
By sharing your experiences, you are helping us to identify what truly works and what support is needed to develop resources, promote best practices, and advocate for a supportive ecosystem where all Third Sector Organisations (TSOs) can thrive.