The Wheel’s European Advocacy

The Wheel strives to ensure that the needs of the sector are heard and understood at a European level.

We do this through our work on active citizenship projects that promote better dissemination of information on European issues and the bringing together of civil society with European decision makers. You can visit our EU project page to read more about The Wheel’s European Parliament funded active citizenship projects.

We also advocate to European decision-makers on behalf of the sector around key issues that have been identified through our projects as barriers to civil society groups participating fully in European democracy and programmes. Our stance is outlined in our Position Paper on the Community and Voluntary Sector and the Future of Europe. 

In order to showcase best practice around European participation and development among our members, and to drive the priorities outlined in our Position Paper, The Wheel has established. Network for European Project Managers. This network serves as a model to other organisations beginning their European development journey and is a vital resource for European project managers to exchange best practice with one another, build their capacity, and maximise the impact of their projects.

At The Wheel, we believe it is vital now more than ever to establish a strong culture of European participation in our sector. Brexit, the refugee crisis and a new financial framework for 2021-2027 are just a few pressing matters facing a Union that is changing rapidly.

Want to know more about civil society and European decision-making?

• Learn about our European projects
• Download our leaflet on why the European Parliament is relevant to civil society
• Read our report on our Access Europe project, which built the capacity of Irish organisations to access EU funding and identified key areas in need of further work
• Contact the European programmes team at The Wheel by emailing europe@wheel.ie.