On Wednesday 17 January, the European Parliament approved by a comfortable majority (397 votes in favour, 134 against, 72 abstentions) a resolution prepared by Markus Pieper (EPP, German) on the transparency and accountability of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) funded from the European Union budget.
The resolution redefines the transparency requirements for NGOs receiving grants from the European Commission, in the light of “a growing number of situations in which EU funds are being exploited in defiance of the Union’s principles and values”. The text stresses the need for better traceability of European funds in order to prevent corruption, and also calls for greater clarity on the very definition of an NGO, particularly in the context of the Commission’s Financial Transparency System (FTS).
During a debate in plenary on Tuesday 16 January, MEP Clare Daly (The Left, Irish) described the proposal as “a political project of the European People’s Party against those who try to hold governments to account”, and called for the same transparency rules to be applied to large companies.
Daniel Freund (Greens, German) had also criticised the proposal, describing it as “a clumsy attempt to defame civil society”, provoking indignation from his German counterpart who was rapporteur for the text.
Monika Hohlmeier (EPP, German) recalled the importance of the work of certain NGOs, mentioning however the example of “Islamist organisations” financed under cover of a “good slogan”.
Finally, Ilana Cicurel (Renew Europe, French) felt that “tighter” controls “were needed upstream as well as downstream” in the monitoring of European funds allocated to all beneficiaries, refusing to see NGOs as the sole targets in the fight against fraud.
Link to Mr Pieper’s motion for a resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/afk (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)