Civil Society Europe, Transparency International EU, and the European Environmental Bureau are urging the Conference of Presidents to reject a proposal to establish a European Parliament inquiry committee into the European Commission’s funding of NGOs. They argue that such committees are for investigating genuine breaches of EU law, and there is no evidence of corruption or wrongdoing in CSO funding to justify this inquiry. They cite a recent European Court of Auditors report that found no misuse of funds and affirmed that EU funding can support advocacy, a key part of civil society’s role in policymaking as outlined in EU treaties. The EU budget Commissioner also stated that the Commission has not instructed CSOs to lobby MEPs. The organizations believe establishing this inquiry without evidence would damage the European Parliament’s credibility in budgetary matters and could fuel anti-civil society rhetoric, threatening democratic participation. Read more here.
Source: CSE
