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

TA-9-2024-0036 · P9_TA(2024)0036 · PE751.681

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Parliament's resolution on transparency and accountability of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) funded from the EU budget welcomes the role of NGOs but stresses that only those respecting EU rights and values should receive EU funding. It calls for a harmonised EU-wide definition of NGOs, better use of the Financial Transparency System (FTS), and stronger controls including the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES) to exclude entities violating EU rules and values. It asks the Commission to require beneficiaries to publish other funding sources, to publish grant information within six months, and to use common identification codes across databases. It urges Member States to strengthen transparency and accountability, and calls for stricter enforcement of the EU Transparency Register, including equal disclosure requirements for all organisations. It opposes an NGO-specific regulation as discriminatory and calls for all EU funding beneficiaries that misuse funds or act against EU values to be excluded from EU funding.

Key points

  1. Welcomes the vital role of NGOs in promoting and defending EU rights and values, and stresses that only NGOs respecting these should receive EU funding.
  2. Highlights that NGOs rely on both public and private funding, and that access to non-EU resources is essential for their existence.
  3. Calls on the Commission to simplify procedures so smaller NGOs can access EU funding, and recognises their supportive role in complementing public services.
  4. Remains concerned by threats and attacks on NGOs in some Member States, including restrictive legislation and excessive controls, and insists they must be protected.
  5. Believes transparency and accountability should not curtail civil society space, and that public transparency requirements should be applied exceptionally where NGOs face reprisals.
  6. Encourages co-legislators to agree on a harmonised EU-wide approach and definition of NGOs to improve transparency, accountability and budgetary control.
  7. Considers that an NGO should not be financed 100% by the state and the Commission to be considered an NGO.
  8. Calls on the Commission to make EDES fully operational to exclude beneficiaries, including NGOs, from EU funds based on the Financial Regulation.
  9. Calls on the Commission to require beneficiaries to publish details of other funding received for EU co-financed projects over a five-year period, respecting confidentiality.
  10. Calls on the Commission to publish information on EU grants to NGOs no later than six months after award, and to develop automatic data validation tools.
  11. Calls for strict enforcement of the EU Transparency Register, equal disclosure requirements for all organisations, and a transparency officer in each committee secretariat.
  12. Considers an NGO regulation discriminatory and calls for all beneficiaries that misuse EU funds or act against EU values to be listed in EDES and blocked from EU funding.

Who is affected

  • NGOs receiving EU funds: must respect EU values, publish other funding sources, and face exclusion if they violate rules.
  • The Commission: must simplify procedures, improve FTS, enforce EDES, and provide training on financial rules.
  • Member States: encouraged to establish lobby registries and strengthen transparency and accountability systems.
  • EU institutions: must enforce Transparency Register rules and publish meetings with beneficiaries.

Figures and deadlines

  • EU financial commitments to NGOs amounted to at least EUR 2.6 billion in 2022 under direct management.
  • 3 377 entities are registered in the EU Transparency Register under the category 'NGOs, platforms and networks and similar'.
  • Data in the FTS is published with a delay of between 6 and 18 months.
  • Beneficiaries must publish other funding received over a five-year period.
  • The Commission should publish grant information no later than six months after the award date.
  • Changes in Transparency Register data should be communicated within three months.

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.