Português
Citizenship Academy was at the European Parliament in Brussels on May 14 for the launch of the European Civic Forum’s Civic Space Report 2026, where we authored the chapter on Portugal. The event, titled “The New Brussels Effect: Why the EU increasingly shapes the space for civil society, and how to respond,” brought together civil society organizations, media outlets, human rights defenders, UN representatives, and MEPs from the Greens/EFA, S&D, and Renew Europe groups.
The event featured remarks by MEPs Tineke Strik, Fabienne Keller, Rasmus Nordqvist, Raquel García Hermida-van der Walle, and Ana Catarina Mendes. Emphasizing that “democracy is responsibility,” Ana Catarina Mendes and the other MEPs present acknowledged the irreplaceable role of civil society in defending and strengthening democracy: as a guardian of accountability, a voice for the most vulnerable communities, a response to failures in public services, and a bridge between the reality on the ground and political decisions.
The Civic Space Report 2026 shows that restrictions on civic space are no longer isolated exceptions and are becoming structural, both at the national level and, increasingly, at the level of the European Union itself. The report identifies worrying trends – ranging from the fabrication of suspicions against organizations, lack of funding, delegitimization of rights advocacy, the use of legal frameworks inspired by authoritarian models, the repression of peaceful protests, and the criminalization of solidarity, to the expansion of surveillance powers and the systematic marginalization of civil society in decision-making processes. Despite this, the report also highlights the resilience, adaptability, and impact of civil society across Europe.
Photos from the slide: Elio Germani
