The five networks gathered in 2024 around a common goal, formed a voluntary nature alliance (VNA) and gathered members in Brussels on 10 & 11 June 2026 to shape future cooperation: BirdLife, CANEurope, EEB, T&E and WWF EU. Environmental Ambassadors for Sustainable Development participated in the capacity as member of the EEB. The first thematic half-day was dedicated to collective strategizing around shrinking civic space; the second day focused on shaping the next phase of the networks’ alliance and its renewed ambition. This alliance is built on the success of joint coordinated advocacy during the 2024 European elections work.
Nowadays, new actions are being prepared at a critical time marked by the persisting triple planetary crisis – climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution – and rising threats to the European Green Deal and shrinking civic space. One and a half-day gathering provided an opportunity to jointly strategize, build capacity, engage with policymakers and brainstorm activities together, taking into account two directions: to counter the threats to the environmental acquis, and to lay the foundations for a new multi-year campaign to bring nature and climate back to the centre of a more positive European policy agenda. The aim is to elevate and better connect national-level advocacy with EU debates and to build an invincible, forward-looking vision for Europe and its citizens.
Objectives of the meeting are fullfiled: strengthen civil society resilience, engage with Civil Society Europe (CSE) to address attacks on civil society and NGO funding at the EU and national level, share examples of resistance, engage with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), identify practical tools and approaches to build resilience against shrinking civic space, kick off the new phase of the alliance, introduce and discuss with national members the strategic direction for the coming years, gather feedback on proposed priorities and co-develop priority workstreams for joint action drawing on members’ expertise and national perspectives. To strengthen civil society resilience in a time of shrinking civic space, a joint tool design discussion with MEPs was launched: civil society in policymaking: from the national to the European level. One of the sessions was dedicated to a discussion on how to secure a future-proof EU budget, concerning building a pan-European mobilisation for green investment and LIFE in the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). Also, discussion on effective engagement with centre-right and conservative policymakers will shape future models of cooperation in building Europe’s next chapter on climate, nature and pollution.
