In a report on Monday, April 7th, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) labelled EU funding of NGOs “too opaque.” The body investigated the €8 billion handed to several non-governmental organisations between 2021 and 2023. After concluding their work, the report’s lead auditor Laima Andrikiene said, “EU funding for NGOs is too opaque and suffers from a lack of transparency”. This is cause for great concern, especially considering the amount of money involved, according to Andrikiene.
In its report, the ECA criticized the European Commission for failing to clearly disclose information about advocacy activities carried out by NGOs using EU funds. It highlighted the absence of active monitoring to verify whether funded organizations were independent NGOs. The report also pointed to a lack of a “reliable overview” of the total amount of EU funding directed to NGOs.
“Transparency is key to ensuring credible participation by NGOs in EU policymaking,” said Andrikiene.
The ECA report brings up the case of LIFE, the Commission’s funding program for environmental NGOs that has reportedly funded lobbying efforts. LIFE survived a narrow vote last week when EU representatives called for a tighter overview of funds awarded through the program, but eventually, the vote did not go through, sparking political debate.
Patriots for Europe, the third largest party group in the EU, has called for establishing a new committee responsible for handling corruption and tackling transparency issues within the Union. Conservative representatives have repeatedly called out the bloc for its shady practices when it comes to back-channel funding for political NGOs. With recent corruption scandals involving the EU and its high-ranking officials, there is a clear need for better oversight of the Union’s inner workings.
