Study: Civil dialogue in Europe

In Latvia, national-level dialogue between the government and NGOs is organised by the Council for the Implementation of the Cooperation Memorandum between NGOs and the Cabinet of Ministers (hereinafter – the Memorandum Council). It oversees the implementation of the memorandum signed on 7 January 2014 and facilitates regular cooperation between the government and NGOs. The memorandum sets out the basic principles of this cooperation. As of August 2026, 578 organisations had signed up to it.

The aim of the study is to compare Latvia’s Memorandum Council with national-level consultative bodies established in other European countries, where public authorities cooperate with organised civil society. The study analyses how civil dialogue is organised in different countries and identifies which elements of Latvia’s model work well and which could be improved.

The study addresses three main questions. First, it examines how civil dialogue is distinguished from social dialogue in EU legislation and institutional practice. It then looks at how national-level government–civil society dialogue institutions are structured in European countries, focusing on the range of participants, the selection of representatives, the organisation of their work and the follow-up of proposals. Finally, it assesses how the Latvian Memorandum Council model differs from those of other countries and which elements could be improved.

The study compares civil dialogue models in 13 European countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Malta, Ireland, France, Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. In all of these countries, a council or another permanent format for dialogue between the government and civil society is in place. However, the representation of NGOs, government involvement, frequency of meetings and possibilities for tracking the follow-up of proposals vary.

Compared with other countries, Latvia’s Memorandum Council stands out positively in several respects: it is located at the centre of government, meets at least once a month, has a professional secretariat and working groups, and its meetings, minutes and video recordings are publicly available. At the same time, weaknesses of the Latvian model include the limited number of NGO representatives – only eight seats – low participation of organisations in the election of representatives, and the lack of a single public overview of the implementation of the Council’s decisions.

The study recommends retaining the Memorandum Council while strengthening its representation, its links with a broader range of NGOs and the traceability of decisions and their implementation.

The study was commissioned by the Civic Alliance – Latvia as part of its delegated public administration function under a cooperation agreement to provide part of the secretariat functions of the Council for the Implementation of the Cooperation Memorandum between NGOs and the Cabinet of Ministers.

The full study is available here.

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