The challenges that civil society organisations are facing in the EU have been discussed at the presentation of the report on ‘Challenges facing civil society organisations working on human rights in the EU’, by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). The report focuses on four categories – regulatory environment, finance and funding, participation, and safe space – and highlighted that the threat that civil society is experiencing across the Member States has a strong impact on the delivery of human and fundamental rights. Arguing health is a fundamental human right. The EFN is keen to push FRA and the European Commission towards supporting NGOs, instead of putting NGOs into the cloud! We need a better space for exchange and dialogue to support civil society, so policies get implemented.
It is key to embrace civil society input to make sure that human rights are delivered. The EFN, representing 3 million nurses working every day to ensure that EU citizens and patients receive the best healthcare leading to better outcomes, according to their needs and often complex environment, advocates to work with frontline to make policies fit for purpose. Nurses constitute a fundamental contribution to ensure a coherent implementation of policies. More than ever, people need to see the real impact and benefit of these policies in their daily live.
Reconnecting people to the EU is key to make it all happen. But to do so, the EU institutions need to seriously commit to support and engage nurses in the co-design of EU health policies and especially in National Roadmaps leading to implementation! We need to see change, and civil society is well equipped to deliver. But the EU needs to support Civil Society!