Now that everyone’s back at full speed after the winter holidays, it’s time to face the facts: this coming year will test European civil society organisations’ ability to come together and fight for what we hold dear.
Our common enemy? Deregulation.
Last year, the European Commission took the first steps down that path with the “Omnibus” initiative. Officially, it’s about cutting red tape and making European businesses more competitive. In practice, they want to roll back critical laws that protect human rights and nature. In the coming months, the EU administration — encouraged by corporate lobbyists — will attempt to further weaken these protections.
Campaigns for a better Europe aren’t won in Brussels: they’re won in national capitals, because we succeeded in making regular EU citizens care and act.
Coordinated distributed campaigning that connects EU-level advocacy with national-level outreach and engagement is what Proca is all about.
It’s now more important than ever for NGOs to build strong, flexible campaign partnerships: sharing intelligence, contacts, resources and technology to power effective collective action.
From pan-European environmental networks to national democracy watchdogs and labour unions, our shared message must be clear: EU regulations are not “red tape”, but the foundation of a just, green and resilient Europe.
Below is a quick overview of where and how NGOs can push back against dangerous deregulation in the coming months — and how Proca’s digital campaigning toolkit can support coalition campaigns.
European Parliament
As MEPs debate the Commission’s proposed changes and “simplifications” to EU laws — both in parliamentary committees and in plenary — they are susceptible to public pressure. European CSOs can provide policy briefings and mobilise the public, especially voters at the national level, to lobby their elected representatives to oppose deregulation.
-> Proca’s Mail To Target (MTT) is a state-of-the-art digital campaigning tool that allows you to easily target MEPs, connect supporters with the right representatives, and customise messages using our smart Snowflake Engine to create unique content and avoid inbox filters.
-> MEPWatch.eu is a transparency tool that tracks how Members of the European Parliament actually vote on key issues (and Proca’s sister project). It makes parliamentary voting data easy to explore so campaigners, journalists and citizens can hold MEPs accountable.
Council negotiations & Member State positions
National governments shape the Council’s position. NGOs can engage national ministries, political parties and parliaments to push for stronger protections — not rollbacks. This is where national-level coalition partners can shine, and where engaging citizens, voters and workers through digital tools can have significant impact.
-> Proca’s Petition and Share Actions include customisable targets and shared counters across campaign partners, and are designed to encourage sharing and help campaigns go viral. Petition forms are optimised to make signing and follow-up actions easy and secure. We support staggered automatic delivery to targets and simple signature export for manual delivery.
Commission’s public consultations
New opportunities for CSOs to take part in Commission’s formal public consultations will arise this year, as implementation approaches and additional deregulation proposals emerge (e.g. the Digital Omnibus). A unified European civil society engaging in these formal processes can speak with a powerful collective voice.
-> Proca’s EU Consultation tool makes it easier for people and NGOs to participate in EU public consultations. Supporters can submit feedback through simple forms on campaign websites without complex logins. Responses are then submitted directly into the EU system, helping balance corporate influence.
Public debate and social media
Corporate lobbyists pushing to weaken the very regulations we fought for do not like the spotlight. Sometimes the most effective move is to create visibility and spark public debate.
-> Proca’s digital tools are highly customisable. If your campaign relies on social media pressure, we can help you run coordinated social storms, mobilise thousands of LinkedIn posts and comments, collect user-generated photo and video content, or even flood decision-makers with electronic postcards. Share your idea with us and we’ll help make it a reality.