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REPORT (2023/2122(INI))

On the transparency and accountability of non-governmental organisations funded from the EU budget

A-9-2023-0446

Committee on Budgetary Control · Rapporteur: Markus Pieper

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Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

Parliament's resolution on the transparency and accountability of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) funded from the EU budget welcomes NGOs' role while stressing that only those respecting EU rights and values should get EU funding. It calls for a harmonised EU-wide definition of NGOs, better data in the Financial Transparency System (FTS), and tracking of EU funds up to the final beneficiaries. It asks the Commission to require beneficiaries to publish other funding sources over a five-year period, to publish grant information within six months, and to strengthen controls and the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES). It urges Member States to set up lobby and transparency registers and to strengthen their own transparency and accountability systems. It opposes an NGO regulation as discriminatory and calls for equal disclosure requirements for all organisations in the Transparency Register.

Committee position. The Committee on Budgetary Control proposes that Parliament adopt the resolution, which welcomes NGOs' role, calls for a harmonised EU definition of NGOs, stronger transparency and accountability rules, better tracking of EU funds, and equal disclosure requirements, while opposing an NGO regulation as discriminatory.

Key points

  1. Welcomes NGOs' role in representing civil society and defending Treaty rights and values, and says only NGOs respecting these rights and values should get EU funding.
  2. Stresses that NGOs must comply with national, Union and international law, and that EU transparency and accountability strengthen a fair European system.
  3. Notes NGOs rely on public support and private donations, and that access to resources other than EU or public funds is essential for their existence.
  4. Calls on the Commission to simplify procedures so smaller NGOs, including local ones, can access EU funding, and to consider safeguard clauses for NGOs in authoritarian regimes.
  5. Remains concerned by threats and unjustified attacks on NGOs in some Member States, including discriminatory legislation, intimidation and excessive controls, and insists NGOs be protected and adequately funded.
  6. Says transparency and accountability must not curtail independent civil society, and that in duly justified cases public transparency should be applied exceptionally to protect NGOs at risk.
  7. Condemns the increase in exploitation of EU funds against EU principles and values, and stresses the importance of final beneficiary transparency.
  8. Encourages co-legislators to agree a harmonised EU-wide approach and definition of NGOs, and asks the Commission to consult on the definition, taking into account the SME methodology.
  9. Says an NGO should not be financed 100% by the state and the Commission, and calls for proper categorisation of NGOs and not-for-profit organisations in the FTS.
  10. Calls on the Commission to make EDES fully operational, reinforce ex ante and ex post controls, and track funds up to final recipients in shared and indirect management.
  11. Calls on the Commission to require beneficiaries to publish other funding sources over a five-year period, publish grant information within six months, and use common unique identifiers across databases.
  12. Calls on Member States to establish national lobby and transparency registers, strengthen their transparency systems, and include entities violating EU rules and values in EDES.

Who is affected

  • NGOs receiving EU funds: must disclose other funding sources, respect EU values, and face exclusion if they misuse funds.
  • The Commission: must simplify procedures, improve FTS data, strengthen controls, and publish grant information within six months.
  • Member States: encouraged to set up lobby and transparency registers and strengthen their transparency and accountability systems.
  • Small NGOs: should benefit from simplified procedures and more accessible EU funding.
  • NGOs in authoritarian regimes: public transparency requirements should be applied exceptionally to protect them from reprisals.

Figures and deadlines

  • EUR 2.6 billion in 2022: EU financial commitments to NGOs under direct management, excluding education and research programmes.
  • 3 377 entities: registered in the EU Transparency Register under the category 'NGOs, platforms and networks and similar'.
  • five-year period: beneficiaries must publish details of other funding received in relation to co-financed projects.
  • six months: deadline for the Commission to publish information about EU grants awarded to NGOs and entities after the grant was awarded.
  • between 6 and 18 months: current delay in publishing data in the FTS.
  • three months: deadline for communicating changes in data provided to the Transparency Register.
  • end of 2024: deadline for the Commission to prepare a proposal for further administrative action on streamlining databases.
  • beginning of 2025: expected date for the Commission to report on the implementation of the recommendation on the exclusion list.

Legal basis: Articles 2, 3, 5, 11(2) of the Treaty on European Union and Articles 322(1a) and 325(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.