A report titled “Transparency of EU funding for non-governmental organizations” was published recently. The document, written by the European Court of Auditors, criticizes the current funding practices but does not question the principle of such grants, as both Brussels and national governments are implementing drastic budget cuts. The report emphasizes the importance of continuing subsidies while highlighting the lack of verification of the loyalty of the organizations to “European values” and the “lack of transparency” in decision-making, procedures and controls related to these organizations. However, the report is not exemplary when it comes to transparency, as it fails to mention the names of the groups benefiting from the Brussels funds. The authors do, however, provide information on the total volume of generosity, specifying that the European Commission has allocated 3.4 billion euros of directly managed funds and 1.4 billion euros of indirectly managed funds for NGOs during the period of 2021 to 2023. The beneficiaries of these subsidies are involved in areas such as social inclusion, gender equality, climate and environmental protection, research and innovation. The report also mentions that the member states have allocated 2.6 billion euros to around 7,500 NGOs from the EU’s two main sources of financing during the same period, ESF+ and AMIF. The authors emphasize that the subsidies to NGOs are not the only issue under investigation and that the focus should be on the specific recipients of these funds, which are in direct competition with national state structures that are elected by citizens. The authors argue that the involvement of the civil society is crucial for the expansion process and that the Commission relies on the NGOs it funds to exert pressure on the governments of the countries in question. The Commission even admits to having closer contact with the NGOs it funds than with the governments of the countries in question. The authors also highlight the role that the Commission plays in deciding who should lead these countries, as seen in the case of Serbia, where the Commission is in favor of excluding certain politicians from the newly formed government. The report concludes by stating that the generosity of Brussels towards its NGOs is not without controversy and that the Commission should be more transparent in its funding practices.
New Report Exposes Hidden Agenda
