European NGOs are being attacked by actors in the EU and the US, wanting to defund those who work for environmental and social justice and for an equal and democratic society. At this critical moment, the support of EU institutions is essential for our survival and resistance.
These threats are not simply propaganda. At this very moment, environmental NGOs and activists are subject to a heavy offensive by right-wing representatives in the European Parliament, who are demanding limitations on their funds. As social and environmental activist, Chloé Mikolajczak, pointed out, EU operating grants available for NGOs working on environmental issues account for €15.6 million annually, or 0.006 per cent of the EU’s annual budget, while, as reported by Politico.eu, the largest companies lobbying for corporate interests spent €120 million on EU lobbying in 2022.
As the election of Donald Trump clearly showed, far-right politicians and anti-rights groups are backed by billionaires, giant corporations, and capitalist superpowers. Dragana Todorović, Executive Co-Director of EL*C, reinforced this message, stating: “Public funding for social justice movements is not a luxury; it is a necessity for a democratic society in which lesbians claim their rightful place.”
To please far-right parties in Europe, members of the EU Parliament from the EPP (center-right) group are following Trump’s example and declaring to the press that they also want to limit funds coming from the Commission’s justice and health departments. This will directly affect all civil society working to advance equality, support non-discrimination actions and protect democracy, including the lesbian movement.
“The chronic underfunding of lesbian organizations is not new, and this backlash will push us further into invisibility,” warned Silvia Casalino, also Executive Co- Director of EL*C. “We are being told that our rights, our struggles, and our lives would be expendable. And we refuse to be erased.”
In the current political climate, the European Union must step up its efforts to protect CSOs at home and globally, and it should fill the gap left by Trump’s reckless actions and general defunding of LGBTI rights, sexual and reproductive rights and women’s rights. This weekend, EL*C and many other organisations in Europe and across the world received abrupt orders to stop working on projects already awarded by the US State Department. The loss of funds will seriously undermine the work of EL*C and the Global Lesbian* Coalition. Following Trump’s executive order, the indispensable work of many of EL*C’s member organizations will be impacted as US embassies have brutally terminated projects across Europe, Central Asia and the world.
Lesbians and trans persons will suffer because of the current political backlash where control over women’s bodies and the self-determination of gender identities are becoming the battlefield of geopolitical struggles, machoistic policy-making, and pro-Nazi politics. EL*C is ready to work with environmental NGOs as well as feminist, anti-racist, disability rights and LGBTI partners who want to fight against this dangerous backlash. We invite everyone who wants to fight with us to the next EL*C conference, which will be held in Rome, Italy between April 23 and 26, 2025. In a country run by Donald Trump’s best friend in Europe, together we will say:
Dykes Rise Against Fascism!
REGISTER NOW AND JOIN US IN ROME!
♦ Media Contact:
Kika Fumero, EL*C Media Officer
Phone number: +34 666 899 735
