Threats to civic space

The document argues that civic space in the EU is narrowing due to restrictive laws, exclusion from decision-making, and the criminalisation of peaceful activism. It highlights specific threats such as SLAPPs, funding cuts to the LIFE programme, and national laws in France, Hungary, Poland, and Italy that curtail CSO operations. ClientEarth calls for a pro-CSO narrative, transparent access to decision-making, and stable long-term financial support to safeguard environmental democracy.

• Civic space in the EU is narrowing through a combination of legal, regulatory, and administrative restrictions that hinder the ability of CSOs to operate freely.
• Several EU Member States have implemented laws that restrict CSO activities: France uses a "Republican commitment contract" to make funding contingent on vague values; Hungary's Defence of Sovereignty Act allows investigations into government critics; Poland has used fast-track procedures to bypass public consultation; and Italy's "Ecovandalism" law imposes severe penalties on environmental activists.
• Environmental defenders are increasingly targeted by Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), with 1,049 such cases filed in Europe between 2010 and 2023.
• There is a significant imbalance in influence between corporate lobbyists and CSOs in EU decision-making; corporate lobbyists account for 67% of meetings with the European Commission, compared to 16% for NGOs.
• The LIFE programme, the only EU fund dedicated exclusively to climate and environmental objectives, faces risks of budget reduction or merger during the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), which could lead to the collapse of some environmental NGOs.
• Non-compliance with environmental law in the EU is estimated to cost more than €180 billion annually, which represents approximately 1% of the EU's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

APA

Chaplain, R. (2025). Threats to civic space. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/dmmmugro/clientearth-threats-to-civic-space-briefing.pdf

Chicago

Chaplain, Roxane. Threats to civic space. ClientEarth, 2025. https://www.clientearth.org/media/dmmmugro/clientearth-threats-to-civic-space-briefing.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chaplain |first1=Roxane |title=Threats to civic space |publisher=ClientEarth |date=November 2025 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/dmmmugro/clientearth-threats-to-civic-space-briefing.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chaplain2025threats, author = {Chaplain, Roxane}, title = {{Threats to civic space}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2025}, month = nov, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/dmmmugro/clientearth-threats-to-civic-space-briefing.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }