Human Rights House Zagreb and Danes je nov dan organised a consultation meeting on 2nd September 2025, bringing together Croatian and Slovenian CSOs to discuss challenges impacting their work on human rights, democracy, and the rule of law, with the goal of providing input to the European Commission’s upcoming Civil Society Strategy. Participants, representatives of 22 CSOs from Croatia and Slovenia, shared their perspectives on various issues including civic space, legal protection, funding, policy-making, and dialogue. The meeting was held as part of the Cross-Border Cooperation project “Report on the Rule of Law – opportunities for civil society through good practices in cooperation and advocacy”, funded through IMPACT4VALUES, a Slovenian-Croatian support program for civil society organizations, implemented within the framework of the EU program Citizens, Equality, Rights, Values.
The outcome of the meeting was a document with key challenges and recommendations for the European Commission’s Civil Society Strategy, in which the participants addressed the following key aspects: the legal and institutional framework for civil society action, with an emphasis on recommendations for the protection and promotion of the right to participation and freedom of expression, access to funding for civil society organisations, with recommendations for removing administrative obstacles and restrictions on access to funding, and public support for the work of human rights defenders. Additionally, cross cutting areas for improving the space for civic space in the EU were identified.
The document with key challenges and recommendations for the European Commission’s Civil Society Strategy was submitted to the European Commission and can be found HERE.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
