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!

Participation

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

Tech and AI

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

Tech and AI

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

Security/CT

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

Tech and AI

Global coalition submits recommendations to the WSIS+20 review process

We call for the WSIS process and outcome to be grounded in human rights, digital inclusion and multistakeholder engagement.

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Action for Civic Space

Catalyst of Change: New call to strengthen communication of grassroots CSOs

Grants will support the development of communications of CSOs working on women’s rights, environmental justice and anti-corruption in Bulgaria, Croatia, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia.

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Monitoring Civic Spaces

Second Civic Space Watch alerts under MACS

Here are the latest developments in European civic space emerging from the Early Warning and Alert System, developed as part of the MACS (Monitoring Action for Civic Space) project.

News

European policies

Anchoring civil space at the heart of EU policy architecture

As the EU develops its Civil Society Strategy, it must embed human rights, civic space and democratic resilience at the core of all of its policies - at home and abroad. Our submission to the EU Call for Evidence sets out how.

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Tech and AI

Learning as we go: Developing rights-based, people-first AI use policies

Our approach to key principles for creating internal policies on generative AI – ensuring these tools are used safely, responsibly and with respect for human rights.

News