Civil society in five EU countries say they face increasing difficulty in carrying out their role effectively due to 'insufficient meaningful participation' in decision-making processes, and claim national authorities do not sufficiently prioritise the funding of important civil society tasks such as monitoring and watchdog activites. These are some of the key findings of a report on civil society rights in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Austria and France, published by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in November 2019.

In response to the findings, the head of the EESC employers' group, said that "the rule of law was important for the economy as a whole, and a precondition for the mutual trust on which the internal market relies", while the lead of the workers' group emphasized that "civil and political rights cannot be separated from social and labour rights, such as the right to strike and freedom of expression, which are necessary to fight for better working and living conditions."

More information including the report "National developments from a civil society perspective" is available below.