2023 discharge: EU general budget – Commission, executive agencies and European Development Funds

30.4.2025 A10-0074/12

Amendment 12

Carla Tavares

on behalf of the S&D Group

Report A10-0074/2025

Niclas Herbst

2023 discharge: EU general budget – Commission, executive agencies and European Development Funds

2024/2019(DEC)

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 20 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

20 a. Welcomes the reply of Commissioner Serafin to the written question1a, once again confirming EU funding was granted and used by NGOs in full respect of EU Treaties and LIFE Regulation2a; takes further note of the recent ECA Special Report on transparency of EU funding granted to NGOs3a, which, while stating that the use of EU funding for NGO advocacy is legal, also confirms it is in line with EU’s legal transparency requirements as laid down in the EU Financial Regulation; at the same time ECA SR 11/2025 points to the fact that more should be done to improve transparency of EU funding received by all beneficiaries; calls in this regard on the Commission to implement ECA recommendations regarding screening of self-declarations in the EU’s Financial Transparency System, as well as proactive monitoring of the respect to EU fundamental values and principles by the beneficiaries;

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1a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/P-10-2025-000595-ASW_EN.pdf

2a https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32021R0783

3a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/P-10-2025-000595-ASW_EN.pdf

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30.4.2025 A10-0074/13

Amendment 13

Carla Tavares

on behalf of the S&D Group

Report A10-0074/2025

Niclas Herbst

2023 discharge: EU general budget – Commission, executive agencies and European Development Funds

2024/2019(DEC)

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 117

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

117. Notes the concerns expressed by some members of the Budgetary Control Committee that certain grant agreements between the European Union Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) and beneficiaries, such as CSOs and private companies, under the LIFE Programme include ‘work plans’ containing detailed advocacy actions towards Union institutions or their representatives, as well as other actions directed towards certain trade agreements which the Union was negotiating, or litigation measures to be pursued by the respective entities; acknowledges that this could be potentially interpreted as interfering with internal decision making in Union institutions; notes that the Commission has performed a legal analysis of the grant agreements that raised concerns of some Members of the CONT Committee, which concluded that there was no evidence that the entities concerned had breached their contractual or code of conduct obligations, yet the Commission asked some beneficiaries to make amendments to the grant agreements that contained the specific provisions that potentially entailed a reputational risk; further notes that all grant agreements include a disclaimer stating that 'views of the beneficiary do not in any way represent views of the EU and that granting authority cannot be held responsible for them’;

117. Notes the concerns expressed by some members of the Budgetary Control Committee that certain grant agreements between the European Union Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) and beneficiaries, such as CSOs and private companies, under the LIFE Programme include ‘work plans’ containing detailed advocacy actions towards Union institutions; notes that the European Court of Auditors Special report 11/20251a stressed that the European Union funding may legitimately support public interest advocacy as part of transparent and ongoing dialogue with civil society organisations therefore answering the unfounded concerns expressed by some members of the Budgetary Control Committee that certain grant agreements between the European Union Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) and beneficiaries, such as CSOs and private companies, under the LIFE Programme include ‘work plans’ containing detailed advocacy actions towards Union institutions.’;

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1a ECA Special Report 11/2025, Transparency of EU funding granted to NGOs - Despite progress, the overview is still not reliable

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