Alzheimer Europe has joined with 415 other civil society organisations in signing an open letter, coordinated by Civil Society Europe, to key EU leaders, calling on them to commit to support and defend civil society organisations in the coming term. The open letter is addressed to:
• Donald Tusk, for the upcoming Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union
• Mette Frederiksen, for the upcoming Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union
• Nikos Christodoulides, for the upcoming Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the European Union
• Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament
• Ursula Von der Leyen, President Elect of the European Commission.
The letter states that all European laws and policies should facilitate the actions of civil society without negative side effects. This involves conducting ex-ante fundamental rights impact assessments of all EU policies, incorporating intersectional evidence from diverse civil society to ensure policies support the exercise of fundamental rights.
Specifically, the signatories call for the following priorities for the next five years:
• A European Civil Society Strategy
• A strong mandate for a Commission Vice President responsible for democracy, civic space and dialogue with civil society
• Reinforcing intermediary bodies and adopting a Civil Dialogue Agreement
• Empowering Funding Policies
• A European Democracy Semester
• A stronger role of the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) as the European human rights institution.
The full letter is available at: