In 2025, several alarming developments shook civil society across the EU. In March, Hungary passed a law banning Pride events and public support for LGBTQI+ rights, while expanding the use of facial recognition technology for monitoring peaceful protesters. In the Netherlands, legislative proposals threatened protest rights and humanitarian aid. Meanwhile, in Bulgaria, amendments to the Criminal Code were fast-tracked, restricting freedom of expression and assembly. These incidents show how quickly fundamental freedoms can come under threat and how civil society faces growing risks when defending rights.
European organisations have long called for stronger EU tools to protect freedoms, including a monitoring and alert mechanism across Member States. ECNL brought together civil society organisations to co-design a methodology that makes this possible: the Monitoring Action for Civic Space (MACS). It is the first tool to systematically channel national developments to EU decision-making through country reports and early warning alerts. Rooted in EU law and values, MACS was piloted in 7 countries in 2025. In a short time, it has gained recognition as a key instrument to monitor civic space in the EU– providing the timely, nuanced evidence that helps prevent problems early on and respond when issues or attacks occur at national or EU level.
This approach shows the importance of translating fragmented national developments into actionable, EU-level insight and response. By combining legal expertise, real-time monitoring, and close partnerships with national actors, we not only documented violations and opportunities but elevated them into the European policy arena - where leverage for change is greatest. Through MACS, early warning signals are no longer isolated incidents but part of a structured evidence base that can inform EU institutions, shape policy debates, and trigger timely interventions. This positions civil society monitors as a critical bridge between local realities and EU decision-making, strengthening the EU capacity to detect, prevent, and respond to threats to our spaces for action in a coordinated and systemic way.
The EU Civil Society Strategy emphasises that effective monitoring is essential for supporting and protecting CSOs in their work. MACS was developed with the vision to fill that call . Now tested and finalised, the methodology is ready for wider use across Europe to strengthen early warning, coordination and response.
The difference this work made:
- Civil society developed the first EU-level civic space monitoring tool that systematically gathers national data and assesses it against an EU framework.
- Chanelled real-time developments affecting civic action to the attention of the EU.
- Enabled 7 European civil society organisations to collectively monitor civic space, this made collaboration between them stronger and opened an avenue to share experiences and best practives.
- Gathered structured EU-wide evidence on civic space conditions.
MACS provided us with a great monitoring tool that is civil society-led and grounded in European standards. It gave us with a structured framework for our civic space monitoring work in a time where developments are going so fast that it’s hard to keep track. (Aicha Chaghouani, Netherlands Helsinki Committee)