The European Civic Forum organises, through the active participation and engagement of its Spanish members and partners, the “European Civic Days 2010” on 7, 8 and 9 May in Malaga (Spain), in the framework of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union and with the support of the European Commission, of the Spanish Government and of the local and regional authorities.

Following the strong impact of the first “European Civic Days 2008” in La Rochelle (France), which opened the way to a series of NGO forums accompanying the official programmes of former Czech and Swedish EU presidencies, these three-day debates will contribute to raising the awareness of European citizens, institutions and political bodies on the role of civil society organisations in the democratic functioning and the social and economic development of our societies.

This 2010 edition of the “European Civic Days” will bring together from 7th to 9th May in Malaga key representatives of the voluntary sector and European institutions to debate and voice recommendations to the European Union, with the aim to foster a greater participation of citizens in decision making process and to promote a European social citizenship. More than 650 participants from 27 countries of the European Union and beyond are expected to participate in this event, the largest gathering of civil society actors in the framework of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The fight against poverty and social exclusion – a challenge to which the European Union has dedicated the year 2010 – gender equality, the new intercultural society, economic and social rights, as well as education to civic values, to active and participatory citizenship and the development of civil dialogue at local and European levels will be the key issues addressed by the “European Civic Days 2010: Towards a social European citizenship”.

Click here to see the programme of the event
For more information about the “European Civic Days 2010”: http://www.jornadascivicaseuropeas2010.com/home/en/index.html

Civil Society Day, 22 March 2010, Brussels

By making participatory democracy a major instrument of good governance, the Lisbon Treaty opens up new prospects for public participation in EU policy-shaping and decision-making processes.

This conference follows on to a collective mobilisation of European civil society networks around a “Manifesto for a genuine European civil dialogue”. This manifesto has been publicly presented on 14 April 2009 within a similar event that gathered together in the EESC hemicycle more than 200 stakeholders of the European civil society and representatives of the main political groups in the European Parliament to debate on the place and the role of civil society organizations within a more participatory democracy.

Now the objective is to put forward to the EU institutions concrete recommendations for the setting up of a structured framework for European civil dialogue. A background document enclosing these recommendations has been drawn up by the signatory European civil society organisations and will serve as a basis for the discussions.

The European Civic Forum, in collaboration with other European civil society organisations and networks members of the Liaison Group and in partnership with Group III “Various Interests” of the European Economic and Social Committee have the pleasure to invite you to this conference themed: « A Structured Civil Dialogue for a Citizen-friendly European Union ».

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Download the conference document
Download the Manifesto « For a genuine European civil dialogue »
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Political guidelines for the mandate of the next European Commission

By a large majority, the European Parliament has re-elected José Manuel Barroso as President of the European Commission for a new five-year term. Within his last pleading in front of the plenary session yesterday in Strasbourg, Mr Barroso presented his political guidelines for the Commission’s next five years term: a "partnership for progress" between the European Commission and the European Parliament.
The head of the European executive body expressed his political vision for a European revival based on a "social market economy". Highlighting the main challenges for the future of Europe, president Barroso undertakes to "reinforce EU citizenship and participation" by "empowering citizens to be involved in decisions affecting their lives, including by ensuring transparency on how they are taken".

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Civil Society Day: Participatory Democracy and Civil Dialogue

Some 200 stakeholders of the European civil society gathered together on 14 April in Brussels within the European Economic and Social Committee on the initiative of the European Civic Forum. United for the first time beyond the diversity of their respective fields of activity, about twenty important European networks1 stand up for a common Manifesto for a genuine European civil dialogue and called on the European political parties on the place and the role of civil society organizations within a more participatory democracy.

Press release

Civil dialogue

The European Parliament has adopted on 13 January by a large majority the report of the socialist MEP Genowefa Grabowska, calling for a structured civil dialogue between European institutions and civil society, as outlined within article 11 of the consolidated EU Treaty.

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Statute of the European association

The European Parliament adopted on 19 February by a large majority the report on social economy drawn up by the MEP Patrizia Toia, Commission “Employment and social affairs”. Articles 10 and 17 of this text highlight the need to a formal recognition of civil society organisations through the adoption of European statutes for associations, foundations and mutual societies and invite the European institutions to adequately include these actors within their social and civil dialogue practices.

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Youth mobility

The European Ministers of Education met in Brussels on 21 November 2008 with the attempt to give a new political impetus to youth mobility across Europe, too often considered being an exception “in favor of those young people better informed or well-heeled”, as the French Research and Higher Education Minister, Valérie Pécresse, recalled.

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2011 European Year of Volunteering

Taking up a civil society initiative supported by the European Civic Forum in the framework of the first “European Civic Days” September last in La Rochelle, the European Commission has recently accepted to declare 2011 as a European Year of Volunteering and intends to make a formal proposal during the first half of 2009.

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European Civic Days in La Rochelle : Mobility, Dialogue, Participation – Towards an Active European Citizenship

The European Civic Forum organised on 4, 5, 6 September 2008 in La Rochelle the first European Civic Days, with the support of the European Commission, as a high-visibility event within the “Europe for citizens” program and as part of the “Paroles d’européens” public debate programme of the French Presidency of the European Union. This event brought together some 1,000 representatives from more than 500 associations from across the European Union, from the Balkans, from Turkey, from Russia, from Ukraine and from Moldavia, to share their experience and working methods and build up a strong Europe-wide network. As privileged intermediary bodies between public institutions and citizens, associations fulfil an essential civic function, actively contribute to reinvigorate politics and help citizens identify more closely with the European perspective. We therefore consider it vital to give more credit and visibility to these organizations whose commitment brings a welcome democratic fillip to a European Union facing renovation.

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