European Civic Forum, Author at Citizens For Europe : Citizens For Europe

The European Civic Forum (FCE) is a transnational network gathering today 100 associations and NGOs from 27 countries of the European Union.
It was created on 17 December 2005 in Strasbourg after a meeting of European NGO leaders that took place in the Council of Europe.

The members of the FCE are national, regional and local associations and NGOs engaged, in their country, in matters relating to citizenship and civic education. Some European networks involved in these questions are also members of the network.

Legal form

Non-profit organization

Objectives

To work in order to bring to the foreground a real European civic dialogue based on clear thinking, exchange and the elaboration of propositions on the use of civic rights for all and on the link between citizens and the European institutions and administrations;
To encourage meetings and exchange programmes between associations and NGOs in each of the countries involved during initiatives and events of civic nature, organised by network members;
To carry out information and awareness campaigns for the European citizens, but also claiming campaigns through the collection of signatures in order to influence the policies of the European Union;
To organise, every year, in a different European country, a meeting of European NGOs leaders. These civic forums, all the while promoting the human, cultural and festive dimensions of European construction, will make it possible to clarify and to precise the civic and democratic model that we want for Europe.

Main Activities

The ‘Plan C for Europe’ (C for Citizenship, Civic mindedness, Communication, Civil dialogue) aims at establishing a framework for this participatory democracy through the institutionalisation of civil dialogue and the adoption of a statute for the European association. This should consolidate the role of NGOs within the development of an active European citizenship and endow political decisions with greater legitimacy. We shall continue to promote these issues within an awareness campaign across Europe: for a structured and structuring civil dialogue with European institutions!
Campaign for the Statute for European associations – Launched in 2006, the European Civic Forums campaign for the creation of a statute for European associations was continued in 2007.
Campaign for the European Citizens’ Initiative – The European Civic Forum carries out the European Citizens’ Initiative, a campaign in order to give citizens opportunities to influence the political agenda of the European Union. The right of European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) would allow one million European citizens to propose concrete policy and law changes to the European Commission, enabling them to directly influence the agenda of the European Union.