Scathing report by European Court of uuditors: EU NGO funding lacks transparency
In its new report, the ECA makes it clear and unequivocal: EU funding of NGOs suffers from a serious lack of transparency.
Despite some improvements, the report notes that information about the amounts received by NGOs working within EU internal policies remains incomplete and inaccurate.
The European Commission fails to adequately disclose certain EU-funded lobbying activities, and no checks are conducted to ensure that the funded NGOs respect the Union’s core values. This, the report warns, poses risks to the EU’s reputation.
The ECA emphasizes that NGOs and other civil society organizations play a key role in enabling citizen participation in democratic policymaking processes within the EU. For the public to hold decision-makers accountable, it must be clear who receives EU funds, for what purpose, how the funds are used, and whether the recipients comply with EU values.
Public demand for increased NGO transparency intensified after the “Qatargate” scandal erupted in 2022.
“Transparency is key to ensuring credible NGO participation in EU policymaking,” said Laima Andrikienė, the ECA member responsible for the report. “However, despite some progress since our last audit, the overall picture of EU NGO funding remains blurry. The data is neither reliable nor transparent, particularly regarding lobbying activities.”
Billions Flow to NGOs
Between 2021 and 2023, NGOs received a staggering €7.4 billion under EU internal policies, including cohesion, research, migration, and environmental sectors. Of this, €4.8 billion came from the European Commission and €2.6 billion from member states.
However, the ECA expresses skepticism about these figures, as the overall picture of NGO funding is still not trustworthy.
Information is published piecemeal, making it hard to analyze whether a disproportionate amount of funds go to a small number of NGOs, and hindering understanding of their actual role in EU policies.
Even though the Commission has made progress in gathering NGO funding data, the way this information is disclosed remains flawed. Member states do not track or report EU-funded NGO financing, and upcoming legislation does not require reporting on such payments.
The definition of NGOs varies across EU countries and is rarely reflected in national laws. In 2024, the EU introduced a definition emphasizing independence from government influence and non-profit status.
While this is a step in the right direction, the classification system still falls short. Some entities self-declare as NGOs without meeting key criteria. For example, a major research institute was listed as an NGO even though its governing body consisted solely of state officials.
The Commission also failed to clearly disclose information about the interest-representing activities (e.g., lobbying) of funded NGOs. Only recently—while the ECA audit was underway—did it issue guidelines stating that grant agreements should not obligate recipients to lobby EU institutions.
Furthermore, EU fund managers do not proactively investigate potential violations of EU values (like rule of law or human rights) by NGOs. Instead, they rely on self-declarations from the organizations themselves.
To top it off, no audits are conducted on the funding sources of NGOs, which could provide vital insights into who is really behind these organizations.
Source: iefimerida.gr
