In a major interview published by EUobserver, Natacha Kazatchkine, Secretary General of the European Civic Forum (ECF), warns that a coordinated effort — including through the European Parliament’s EPP-driven Scrutiny Working Group on NGO financing is starving civil society of funding, legitimacy, and space to defend democratic values. Kazatchkine identifies three converging threats: legislation targeting foreign-funded NGOs with deeply stigmatizing effects; growing restrictions on the right to protest; and the criminalization of solidarity with migrants. She argues that the EU’s recently adopted CSO Strategy must be backed by proactive policymaking rather than remaining a standalone document detached from broader democratic governance. Read more here.
Source: EUobserver