In this case study, Colette Solomon exemplified the power of civil society to protect the rights of the most marginalised and foster democracy – concrete proof of the need for an enabling space for civil society organisations and the creation of structural dialogue between CSOs and decision-makers. [...] Pietro Barbieri, Vice- President of EESC Civil Society Organisations’ Group, rapporteur of the opinion ‘Strengthening civil dialogue and participatory democracy in the EU: a path forward’, retraced the process that led to the adoption of the EESC opinion on civil dialogue, mentioning some of the obstacles encountered, which included the definition of civil society and the need to ensure that civil. [...] Lucie Studničná, President of the EESC Workers’ Group, underlined the invaluable role of civil society in protecting the most vulnerable and defined civil dialogue as the backbone of our democracies. [...] In the closing remarks, Gabriella Civico, President of Civil Society Europe, recapped the salient points of the debate and concluded that bolder action is necessary to strengthen civil dialogue in the EU. [...] 2 The key messages that emerged from our workshop and that will feed into the EESC recommendations for the next mandate are: • Civil dialogue is the backbone of representative democracy and is essential to amplify the voice of the most vulnerable groups in our society and to give concrete responses to the diverse needs of the people in Europe.
- Pages
- 3
- Published in
- Belgium
