Welcome to the April edition of our newsletter.
The reverberations from this month’s stunning election result in Hungary will be felt in myriad ways.
They’re already being experienced by Hungarians themselves, who turned out in record numbers to overwhelmingly reject Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party after 16 years in power. The seismic outcome presents huge challenges and opportunities for Hungarian civil society – Márta Pardavi, Co-chair at Hungarian Helsinki Committee, has outlined these in an article for our website: see ‘From the Frontlines’ below.
Among the result’s less immediately visible impacts is how it changes the landscape for the ongoing negotiations over the EU’s long-term budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), which will total almost €2 trillion spending over seven years.
Positive sign
Long-term funding for civil society and independent media in Europe is vital for our democracies’ health. On April 15th, the EU Parliament appeared to recognise this when it published its interim report on the proposed budget for the AgoraEU, the MFF programme which supports culture, media, democracy and civil society.
The report proposes increasing AgoraEU’s allocation by €2.14 billion compared to the European Commission’s original proposal, which would make a total budget of €10.72 billion. This followed a letter from Civitates’ Future of Europe cohort with 500 signatories advocating for this increase. In another new feature this month, members of the cohort assess the current state of play in the MFF negotiations, and their coordinated advocacy’s impact.
This week, the EU Parliament voted whether to adopt the position outlined in the interim report. While it’s encouraging to see that the points made in the civil society letter have been heard, there’s a long way to go and many hurdles to clear – including countering intensifying anti-civil society narratives.
Crucial funding
Hungary’s election result has changed the dynamics around the MFF negotiations for the better – with Hungary no longer acting as a spoiler, especially over civil society funding, and making a faster timeline possible.
The Hungarian electorate’s dramatic rejection of Fidesz’s “electoral autocracy” is a striking illustration of why maintaining long-term funding support for civil society is so crucial, however bleak the circumstances might seem.
It means that when change comes, those who have valiantly tried to protect democracy through the dark years are well-placed to help rebuild it, and realise their fellow citizens’ vision for a better society .
In solidarity,
ELISA PETER
Director, Civitates
As negotiations over the EU’s next long-term budget accelerate, the future of funding for civil society, independent media and culture is at a critical juncture. The proposed AgoraEU programme is under pressure from competing priorities, even as its importance to Europe’s democratic resilience becomes clearer than ever.
In this month’s featured article, members of Civitates’ Future of Europe cohort share insights from the frontlines of the negotiations — highlighting both the opportunities to secure stronger, long-term support, and the risks that could undermine it.
Read more to understand what’s at stake, and why coordinated advocacy is making a difference at this decisive moment.
On Sunday April 12, Hungarian voters turned out in record numbers to conclusively end the 16-year rule of Viktor Orbán and Fidesz, handing Péter Magyar’s Tisza party a constitutional majority. In a new article for the Civitates website, Márta Pardavi of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee explores how civil society can help repair Hungary’s hollowed-out democracy following the country’s recent stunning election result. Read more here.
Civil society played a vital role in establishing the infrastructure needed to mobilise the electorate in Hungary’s momentous 2026 parliamentary elections. Key to this success was the ACT Coalition – composed of the Civil College Foundation (CKA), aHang, and TASZ (Hungarian Civil Liberties Union), who, among other things, ran a ‘Clean Vote’ campaign, conducted community organising, workshops, and training sessions.
More than 500 organisations representing Europe’s cultural, media, and civil society sectors have signed a joint letter calling for a substantial increase in funding for the AgoraEU programme in the next long-term EU budget. Following the letter from Civitates’ Future of Europe cohort the European Parliament proposed increasing AgoraEU’s allocation by €2.14 billion compared to the European Commission’s original proposal, which would make a total budget of €10.72 billion. Read more here.
The blue check next to names on Facebook and Instagram profiles is supposed to indicate authenticity. Yet a Fundación Maldita.es investigation has found that verified Meta accounts are being used to run massive advertising scam campaigns on the platforms. See: Verified scams: how Meta’s Blue Checkmark Legitimized Fraudulent Ads
FELGTBI+ have published their annual report State of Hate 2026, which provides a comprehensive overview of LGTBI+ hate, discrimination and violence in Spain. Among its key findings is that more than half of LGTBI+ people in Spain have experienced some form of hate in the past year, highlighting the persistence and growth of these phenomena both offline and online.
ARTICLE 19 Europe, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, the Civic Network Watchdog Poland, and the National Federation of Polish NGOs have submitted a petition to the Senate of the Republic of Poland, calling for a legislative initiative aimed at the decriminalisation of defamation. In Poland, criminal defamation provisions are often used against journalists, activists, and whistleblowers acting in the public interest.
AI Forensics’ latest investigation reveals large-scale, organised Telegram networks involving nearly 25,000 users across Italy and Spain spreading and monetising non-consensual intimate images (NCII), including child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The revelations have received widespread news’ coverage.
Independent investigative Lithuanian journalism outfit Siena joined forces with four other local newsrooms to use leaked data to reveal the suspicious electoral financing of the populist, nationalist Nemunas Aušra party, in the country’s 2024 election. Lithuania’s Central Electoral Commission has opened a formal inquiry into the party’s campaign financing.
Solomon’s story “Unaccompanied Children Sleep on the Floor in Shifts in Greece’s ‘Model Camps’. The EU Is Aware” has been shortlisted for the European Press Prize in the Migration Journalism Award category.
A recent research paper published by Wikimedia Europe explores how the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) is shaping the role and responsibilities of community-governed platforms, particularly focusing on Wikipedia. The research offers a closer look at how EU regulation interacts with platforms that rely on user-led, decentralised moderation, an area that has so far received relatively limited attention in European legal analysis
Coalition Ravni BG has hit major milestones – explored in this article – highlighting its continued momentum. In 2025 alone, 18 new organisations joined the network, pushing its reach to over 50 partners across Bulgaria.
Civitates Forum report
The Civitates Forum report is out! Also, our participants’ satisfaction survey shows that 82% of participants had useful exchanges of ideas, tools or approaches with other participants, and 48% identified concrete opportunities for collaboration. 88% of grantees established new connections with at least 1 foundation partner, and 77% connected with 3 or more grantees from a different area of work (civic power, tech or media). A key lesson is to factor in more downtime for breaks for unstructured networking.
MFF and Disinformation: Meeting with Spanish ministries and civil society
Civitates’ Maria Guerra-Arias joined CSO representatives, academics, and Spanish government representatives in Madrid in April. The meeting, part of a broader series including similar events in Germany and Poland, supported information sharing and advocacy on the upcoming EU Multiannual Financial Framework and how it can be utilised to help fight disinformation.
Ariadne 2026 Annual Reconnect
Ariadne and Assifero organised a gathering in Bologna in April to reflect on the theme, ‘When the Ground shifts: Philanthropy with Purpose’. Civitates’ Eszter Szucs attended to share remarks on our work. Attendees reflected on social change, human rights, and philanthropy in the current challenging context.
09/05/26 – Europe Day
Location: various
Europe Day marks the anniversary of the historic Schuman Declaration in 1950, which laid the foundation for a new form of political cooperation in Europe. The European Cultural Foundation is hosting a central agenda listing all the Europe Day celebrations taking place in different cities and countries. It can be found here. More information here.
Calls:
-
- The Expert Council on NGO Law of the Conference of INGOs is launching a new EU-wide study on Restrictions on NGOs Representing or Providing Support to National Minorities and is inviting Civil Society Groups, National Human Rights Institutions and Others Working on National Minority Issues to share their opinion and experience by answering a short questionnaire regarding the situation in their country. The deadline is today, April 30.
Jobs & Opportunities:
-
- The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has a number of job openings – including in the areas of civic space, NHRIs, and Roma inclusion. See details here.
We Recommend:
-
- “Messaging that (re)builds public support for civic space“. A new guide from Liberties sets out what messaging helps to grow support for NGOs working on human rights-related issues like environmental protection and migration.
- Civic Space Update: Enabling civil society to uphold EU values and strengthen democracy. This report presents the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights’ (FRA) opinions on how EU Member States can better protect civic space and support civil society organisations in safeguarding fundamental rights.
- New Approaches to Defending Global Civil Society. A new Deep Dive by the European Democracy Hub offers original ideas on how to protect civil society against the severe and even existential threats it faces.
- Ads for News, News for Ads – the role of government in reforming the digital advertising market. This new policy brief by Check My Ads contains recommendations for policy makers on reforming the digital advertising market to save independent public-interest journalism.
- The FACTA team invites you to subscribe to Paludi, a newsletter in Italian dedicated to Italy’s wetlands, the country’s most overlooked yet precious natural environments. A new issue is published every Thursday. Subscribe here.
- Belarus: Be wary of quick wins – we must push for true freedom. At the end of March, ARTICLE 19 hosted Ales Bialiatski, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, founder of Viasna Human Rights Centre, and a key symbol of Belarusians’ fight for freedom and democracy. This blog highlights his key takeaways.
- On-Device Foundational Biases: How Summarisation Can Perpetuate Biases. AI Forensics’ report revealing bias in Apple Intelligence’s on-device foundation model summaries, has attracted media attention.
- Bloody millions: Lithuanian companies secretly supplied Russian oil products to Ukraine. Siena has revealed that Lithuanian fuel companies exported thousands of tonnes of Russian liquefied petroleum gas into wartime Ukraine under falsified Lithuanian origin certificates. The investigation was republished by Romanian outlet context.ro.
- Climática Exprés’. Climática, the first Spanish-language media outlet specialising in the climate crisis, has launched a podcast. The weekly programme sums up the latest climate news in just 10 minutes: covering science, culture, and current affairs with an optimistic touch that invites reflection.
- At Europe’s Crossroads: What Hungary Teaches About Democratic Resilience. Anna Donath shared her personal insights and experiences with the European Cultural Foundation on democratic resilience in Hungary.
- André Wilkens, European Cultural Foundation’s Director, has co-authored an op-ed in the Parliament magazine on why the EU must invest in culture. It argues that “when culture and heritage are attacked… Europe’s democracy and freedom of expression become the real targets.”
