LGTo the opening this afternoon of the twenty-fourth meeting of the EESC’s Liaison Group with European civil society organisations and networks. After the opening by the joint chairs, EESC President Staffan Nilsson and Jean-Marc Roirant, the meeting heard a presentation of a study especially commissioned by the EESC on ‘the impact of the crisis on civil society organisations in the EU – risks and opportunities.’ The study, undertaken by a team of researchers at the Institute of European Studies at the Free University of Brussels and presented today by Professor Jamal Shahin, discovered that the crisis has had a very uneven effect on civil society organisations. It is not just a case of the bigger organisations and the single issue organisations doing better. Some organisations have been much more adept in adapting to circumstances and developing survival strategies. Moreover, in many sectors the crisis has reinforced the role and the identity of civil society organisations, even if, paradoxically, they struggle with funding.