Civil Society Organisations in the EU: Human Rights discourse through the European Women’s Lobby

The essay provides an in-depth analysis of the way civil society organizations (CSOs) de-fine their roles within the European Union’s political system. The authors argue that CSOs are significant actors for democratic change in the architecture of the European Union since they have capacity to aggregate different political demands, particularly in the area of gender poli-cy. This also thanks to the ‘civil dialogue’ within political space. Our hypothesis is that the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) has obtained significant legitimation from some EU bodies in particular, from the Commission, Parliament and women’s policy agencies. Its political expertise has also been recognized on issues related to women’s human rights interna-tional political agenda. We suggest that a progressive adaptation of EWL to the human rights policy framework is a strategic action towards advocacy and lobbying in the EU.