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Federation of Young European Greens

FYEG

FYEG is the European umbrella organisation for Young Green organisations from all over the continent, from Georgia to Ireland and from Cyprus to Norway.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and European Youth Forum and

14 Jan 2026 · Stakeholder dialogue on establishing the Erasmus+ programme for the period 2028-2034

Meeting with Lena Schilling (Member of the European Parliament) and Climate Action Network Europe and

17 Nov 2025 · COP30 Negotiations

Response to EU Civil Society Strategy

14 Aug 2025

CSOs are the backbone of democracy, human rights, social cohesion and progress across the EU. Their proposals, activities, actions, and campaigns are the result of meaningful dialogue between members of our society from diverse communities, particularly marginalised and underrepresented groups, that are traditionally not engaging in the "formal" democratic process. CSOs amplifying these voices in democratic processes, and contribute to the quality of the work done by the institutions. The Federation of Young European Greens sees the proposal of an EU Civil Society Strategy as a much-needed step to acknowledge civil society not merely as an implementer of policies but as an active partner. We expect this Directive to be a tool to better support and equip civil society actors with the tools and resources we need. Shrinking civic space, legal, political and administrative restrictions, smear campaigns and targeted attacks, abusive lawsuits, surveillance, and increasing financial insecurity... these are some of the attacks that we see that the groups in the Member States are experiencing (and we do also experience the same at the EU level). We observe that some of our partners, particularly those focusing on the rights of women, LGBTIQ+ community, and migrants, are particularly affected by these attacks. CSOs capacities to operate effectively and independently are affected by this. The consequence of this situation is a weakening the EUs democratic values and fundamental rights. A robust, coherent, and well-resourced Civil Society Strategy is crucial to safeguard and empower civil society actors to continue their indispensable work. We consider that the Civil Society Strategy should include the following initiatives: * Civic-engagement-check process for all legislation, so that EU policies of all and any field support rather than restrict civic space. * EU protection system for Human Rights and Environmental Defenders and Civil Society Organisations in the EU and its member states. CSOs and democracy defender (whistleblowers, activists, human rights advocates) under attack should be given access to legal, financial, psychosocial, and digital security support. This system should be independent, sustainable, and rooted in human rights standards, with rapid response capacity and follow-up for systemic reform. * Ensuring that the MFF includes strong and structural support for civil society through confirming and reinforcing a stand-alone, directly managed programme to support civil society and strengthen civic space; increasing the overall funding allocation to Operating Grants; improving their accessibility; explicitly including advocacy as a legitimate activity; and simplifying their functioning procedures. Ear-marking for youth and other groups should also be maintained. * The European Commission (and internally, its different DGs and Agencies), the Parliament and the Council of the EU should mainstream their efforts to engage with CSO, so that regular structured practices of engagement of civil society across all stages of the policy cycle. * Structure the upcoming Civil Society Platform as a mechanism to support systematic, transversal and vertical dialogue between the EU Commission and civil society and strengthen civic participation in shaping the political agenda. * Include provisions for Member States to develop formal, transparent, plural, pro-democratic, and inclusive civil society engagement frameworks to strengthen civil dialogue and participation mechanisms at the national level * Develop recommendations for an enabling environment for civil society at national level, including enabling the action of national youth councils * Remove obstacles to cross-border cooperation of non-profit organisations and foundations in the single market, guaranteeing them freedom of establishment and free movement of goods, services and capital. The European Cross-Border Association Directive would be an important first step.
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Meeting with Maria Ohisalo (Member of the European Parliament)

24 Mar 2025 · Exchange of views

Meeting with Kira Marie Peter-Hansen (Member of the European Parliament)

24 Sept 2024 · Strengthen ties between Young European Greens and Green MEP's

Meeting with Kira Marie Peter-Hansen (Member of the European Parliament)

30 Apr 2023 · GGEP youth assembly

Meeting with Frans Timmermans (Executive Vice-President) and European Environmental Bureau and

10 Dec 2021 · European Green Deal and racial justice issues in climate, energy, transport and environment policies