Civil society organizations play a crucial role in Brussels, but political attacks and disinformation are putting them under pressure. How can they protect their voice
and democracy itself? Director Faustine Bas-Defossez of European Environmental Bureau (EEB) and Nick Aiossa, director of Transparency International EU
(TI-EU), explain what’s at stake.

The voices that aren’t at the table

For many people, Brussels seems far removed from their lives. But it’s not, Faustine of EEB argues: “Around 70 to 80 percent of national legislation on the environment and health is the result of EU rules. So Brussels has a direct impact on our daily life. For example, the fact that you can drink tap water anywhere in Europe is due to European legislation.”

Faustine believes that the role of civil society organizations* in the democratic process is crucial and indispensable. “We represent the voices that aren’t at the table in Brussels, such as groups of citizens, nature and the climate. We contribute perspectives from science and practice that otherwise would receive too little attention and struggle to be heard over the well-funded lobby representing business interests. Someone from outside the EU once said to me: this is advanced-level democracy, that the European Commission funds organizations that are then able to subject it to critical questioning. And that’s true. We’re very lucky to live in Europe, where the scope for this exists.”

A new political wind

Nick: “Understanding ‘Brussels’ is complex. I’ve been working here for 20 years now, and I thought I knew the system well. There was always a certain predictability and willingness to reach reasonable compromises. But the political wind has changed since the recent elections. Parties that target civil society organizations have united and now form the third largest group in the Parliament.”

Shortly after the 2024 elections, this group started a focused disinformation campaign. Faustine: “Civil society organizations were accused of being puppets of the European Commission, and of Frans Timmermans when it came to the Green Deal. That was even said to be illegal. It took a lot of effort to refute those unfounded accusations, but the damage had already been done. They had paved the way for a new means of putting pressure on civil society organizations.”

Deterrent effect

Nick: “We succeeded in stopping an initiative to set up a special inquiry committee for NGOs. Such committees are normally only appointed in the case of major wrongdoing, such as the Pegasus spying scandal involving surveillance of journalists.” Unfortunately, instead of this, a parliamentary scrutiny group for NGOs did get set up. Nick: “MEPs are now demanding that the European Commission produce hundreds of documents and contracts for NGOs that receive EU funding. This unfairly creates distrust and has a deterrent effect. As an anti-corruption organization we know that if you really want to track down fraud, you should be looking into high-risk sectors such as agricultural subsidies, not at these agreements. It’s a theatrical, politically motivated witch hunt.”

TI-EU and EEB joined other organizations in forming a coalition to respond to the attacks. They engaged in discussions with political groups. Nick: “We warned that legitimizing this scrutiny group is dangerous. Fortunately, we succeeded in convincing them, and progressive political groups decided to boycott the scrutiny group.”

Unfortunately, just as with the disinformation campaign, the damage had already been done. Faustine notices the shift in practice: “Civil society organizations that wanted to organize an event with politicians were told that they were pulling out. It seems they believe the risks are too great.”

Crucial budget negotiations

Over the next two to three years, the battle will primarily play out during negotiations on the EU budget. Faustine: “European civil society organizations receive so-called operating grants: structural EU funding for their day-to-day work and organizational capacity, for example in the fields of human rights, the environment, youth and education. For European umbrella organizations in the environmental field, these subsidies are covered by the so-called LIFE regulation and there is a separate budget item for this. In the proposed new budget, that regulation ceases to exist, leading to uncertainty regarding funding for civil society organizations in policy-making processes.”

The opponents of NGOs are vocal during the negotiations, inspired by American conservative think tanks working together with like-minded EU member states. Nick: “Their reasoning is simple: if you hand out blankets to homeless people then you deserve EU money. But not if you study why homelessness exists and make recommendations.” Just as in earlier attacks, these groups take an American approach aimed at stopping funding for NGOs and dismantling legal protection measures. Nick: “The attack on the Digital Services Act originates from this source. It’s a European law that makes the internet safer and fairer. They want to remove all possible regulatory obstacles for American companies, particularly for big tech companies.”

In the same budget discussions and in decision-making on new legislation, one word is repeated increasingly loudly: competitiveness. Nothing can be allowed to get in the way of competitiveness, even if that harms biodiversity or the climate. Faustine: “It’s all about short-term goals and the race against China and the US. On that pretext, green rules are diluted and laws are adopted under fast-track procedures, with much less scope for input from civil society organizations and citizens.”

Laws quietly eroded

Fortunately, the glass is still half full; at least, Faustine and Nick try to hold onto that feeling. Faustine: “We’re successful, and that’s exactly why we get attacked. The Green Deal came about through effective cooperation between science and policy, thanks to civil society organizations. For the next European elections in 2029 we will show citizens how important EU democracy and civil society organizations are. We also want to show them that it’s possible to take action. For example, with our Hands Off Nature petition, in which we show that protective European laws are being quietly eroded on the pretext of ‘simplification’.”

Nick: “The cooperation between NGOs in Brussels has strengthened greatly over the last 18 months, which is very encouraging. Our coalition has already made significant progress, such as the boycott of the scrutiny group for NGOs.” Faustine: “We also work together with businesses that have already invested in sustainability. They are suffering losses due to the uncertainty, which undermines EU competitiveness.”

Nick: “Among civil society organizations and within our team, you notice a fighting spirit: we’re ready to take on this challenge.” Faustine: “The mission now is to protect what we still have: damage control.” Nick: “There’s still time. I’m an optimistic pessimist. Or a pessimistic optimist, depending on which way the wind is blowing in Brussels.”

The support of Adessium Foundation

Adessium Foundation’s support Adessium is working to maintain public funding for civil society organizations in the EU’s new multiannual budget (2028 – 2034). This budget determines, put simply, how much money there is for democracy, human rights, environment and climate. Certain political groups are trying to limit civil society organizations’ access and funding.

Adessium supports partner organizations carrying out advocacy and campaigns in Brussels and the member states, so that civil society organizations can continue to fulfil their crucial role.

*In this article we use the terms NGOs and civil society organizations interchangeably. Our definition is: nonprofit organizations that work independently of government, pursue a social mission and/or operate outside of governments and the market (business) and promote civic participation.