Civil society organisations across Europe are continuing to operate, mobilise support and influence public debate despite facing overlapping economic, political and technological pressures. A 2026 report from the Resilient Civil Society project finds that 70% of 600 organisations surveyed across eight EU Member States and at EU level experienced at least one major disruption during the previous two years, while 55% faced multiple disruptions. The cost-of-living crisis had the broadest impact, affecting 61% of respondents, followed by political instability at 41%, with development, aid and human rights organisations reporting particularly high vulnerability. Nevertheless, staffing, income, membership and support bases remained stable or improved on average. Peer networking emerged as the most frequently used resilience strategy, alongside advance planning, crisis protocols and organisational capacity-building, while most respondents continued advocacy on the disruptions affecting them. However, NGOs, charities and citizen groups generally perceived themselves as less successful than business and professional organisations in influencing crisis-related policies, highlighting persistent inequalities in access to policymaking. Read more here.
Source: The Good Lobby
