The Future of Civil Societies
Research
What are the trends and drivers that shape our world and the work of civil society? A foresight paper by James Logan written as part of ECNL’s strategy development process.
News & research
What's the latest in the field of civil society law and policy? Read our news and learn more about our analytical and research work!
Highlighted
Europe’s Real Security Challenge: Reclaiming Democracy
News
In this blog Vanja Skoric and Florian Irminger argue that defending civic space, public participation and human rights must become a core pillar of EU security policy.
Alert: The Hungarian draft Law on Transparency of Public Life
News
Under the guise of national sovereignty: can this law withstand scrutiny by EU, global human rights and anti-money laundering bodies? Spoiler: Absolutely not.
Uniting for democracy: How we can work together to address challenges to people's rights and civil society
News
A roadmap for civil society, funders and allies as we reimagine how to strengthen democracy and collective action.
Hungary’s new biometric surveillance laws violate the AI Act
News
This legal analysis lays out how Hungary's new legislation on facial recognition technology violates the EU Artificial Intelligence Act.
Blueprint for rights-centered AI in public participation
Concrete recommendations for public institutions and AI developers on how to design and use AI tools that strengthen public trust in democratic processes.
News
Join ECNL at COP30
In Belem, Brazil, with the LEAD Coalition we will make the case to elevate the voices of environmental human rights defenders in climate action.
News
Framework for Meaningful Engagement 2.0
The updated FME 2.0 offers very practical suggestions on how to engage civil society and affected communities in AI development to support platforms and AI developers in creating rights-based products.
Research
Where to find ECNL at ICSW 2025?
Join us at the International Civil Society Week in Bangkok to discuss civil disobedience, criminalisation of dissent and key trends from civic space monitoring.
News
How to use EU law and media engagement to protect civic space?
Civil society and journalists from Romania and Bulgaria came together under Catalyst of Change to share insights and enhance collaboration on human rights protection.
News
How can lobbying be regulated to ensure fairness, transparency and public participation
At the 2025 OGP Global Summit, ECNL together with APRI will explore how lobbying laws can be designed to safeguard democratic principles and ensure diverse voices are heard in policy-making.
News
Civil society urges the European Commission to uphold the AI Act in Hungary
ECNL, Liberties and the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union call on the EU to protect Pecs Pride participants from AI surveillance.
News
Civic Journalism Coalition webinar: Investigating Big Tech harms
Join ECNL, EDRi and Lighthouse Reports on 9 September for a webinar on how journalists and civil society can use the data access mechanism in the Digital Services Act.
News
FATF unintended consequences process
This user-friendly guide explains how you can best influence the outcomes with strategic timing and building the right coalitions.
Research