Fundación Secretariado Gitano

15th September, International Day of Democracy [editar]

• International
• National level

Through an open letter addressed to all European Institutions we make a request for the next 5 years: we ask them to prioritise actions that promote a vibrant civic space, defend democracy and safeguard fundamental rights.

Civil society plays a key role in promoting civil, political, economic, social, cultural and environmental rights. It empowers marginalised voices, promotes active participation in governance and holds authorities accountable.

The European Union promotes that all European laws and policies should focus on facilitating and promoting civil society action. This implies conducting prior fundamental rights impact assessments of all EU policies, incorporating cross-sectoral evidence from diverse civil societies to ensure that policies support the exercise of fundamental rights.

To this end, in the letter signed by Fundación Secretariado Gitano we call for the following priorities to be addressed in the next five years:

• A European Civil Society Strategy, integral to a broader European Democracy Agenda, to provide a robust and coherent policy framework that enables, supports and protects civil society.
• 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.
• Funding Policies empowering civil society.
• A European Democracy Semester building on the European rule of law cycle.
• A stronger role of the Fundamental Rights Agency as the European human rights institution..