Welcome to our October newsletter! Read more to find out about the ECBA Directive's status, the launch of the interest group on civil society in the European Parliament, and more.

Work Programme 2026: Commission Proposes to Withdraw Support for Non-profit Sector

The Directive, long awaited by the civil society sector that has been calling for a European Association Status for decades, would finally allow the non-profit sector to operate across borders, providing a level playing field while being the first time that the sector would be recognised at EU level. 

The announcement of the withdrawal must be followed by a decision within the next six months. We urge the Executive Vice-President Séjourné and the College of Commissioners to listen to the non-profit sector and civil society: reverse this proposal.

Read our full statement here.

Interest Group on Civil Society in the European Parliament is Launched

Throughout the meeting, participants exchanged passionately on civil society funding in light of the upcoming EU Multiannual budget 2028-2034, the potential power of the European Cross-border Associations Directive to enhance cooperation among civil society organisations in Europe, and upcoming EU files relevant to civil society and democracy.

Read more on our LinkedIn here. Thank you to the MEPs and our partners from civil society for making this launch a success.

CSE Speaks at the European Court of Auditor’s Conference on Transparency

On October 20th, CSE President Gabriella Civico intervened at the European Court of Auditors’ Conference on Transparency in Luxembourg.

Speaking on the panel ‘Transparency of EU funding granted to NGOs’ alongside representatives from the European Parliament, European Commission, and academia, Civico engaged in a productive discussion on the importance of funding to civil society, the availability of all data on funding to NGOs on the EU portals while underscoring the need for transparency of EU funding for all beneficiaries, such as for profit and those publicly funded directly by the EU and through Member States, as well as working together with civil society to make the EU Financial Transparency System more user friendly for the public and media.

The full conference recording can be accessed here. Thank you to the Court of Auditors’ for an open discussion on this important topic.

A Better Version of a Bad Law: CSE’s Reaction to the Committee Vote on the Foreign Interest Representation Directive

This is why we have called for either the withdrawal of the Directive, or turning it into a legislation that ensures transparency of all lobbying services with strong fundamental rights protections.

CSE welcomes the results of this vote with caution. The compromise voted by the Committee is a step forward - it focuses the Directive on contractual lobbying services and excludes grants, and sanctions are fair and are limited to administrative fines. But further changes can’t completely stop this Directive from being misused to target civil society.

Read our full reaction here.

CSE Speaks at the EngageAll Webinar on a Competence Framework for Student Civic Engagement

On the 6th October, CSE was a panelist for the webinar “Engage and Learn: A Competence Framework for Student Civic Engagement”, organised by the EngageAll consortium and EURASHE. The webinar focused on presenting the newly-developed EngageAll Framework to measure civic engagement in professional higher education institutions.

Watch the webinar recording here.