Civil Liberties Union for Europe Information

We are an EU watchdog with members organisations across Europe promoting & protecting human rights against. Who are we? Human rights give us the tools to build the lives we want to live, and the communities we want to live in. The Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) is a watchdog that safeguards the human rights of everyone in the European Union. Our team is made up of experts in human rights and communications. We work closely with our network of members in Brussels and across 18 EU countries. We are registered as a non-governmental organisation in Berlin and have a presence in Brussels. What is our purpose? We believe that everyone in the EU should be able to enjoy and use their basic rights and freedoms. The EU has a lot of power and influence over what happens in EU countries. Because of this, we try to influence the EU to do three things. First, when the EU makes laws and policies, we want the EU to leave our freedoms intact. Second, when governments or corporations threaten our rights, we want the EU to step in and protect us. Third, we want the EU to use its powers to make it easier for everyone to use their rights. How do we do it? We collaborate with our network of members and use four different tools to influence the EU and national governments to uphold everyone’s rights. First, we use advocacy. This means we use our expertise to explain to people working in the EU institutions and national governments why and how they should uphold human rights. Second, we help our members litigate. That means we give our members expertise on EU law to use in court cases, and we help our members take cases simultaneously in different EU countries. Third, we use public mobilisation. We talk directly to you, the public, about the problems we’re working on so you can spread the word and help us put pressure on the EU and national governments to solve them. Finally, we train NGOs on communications. Want to talk? Drop us a note!