Activities of Daniel FREUND related to 2023/2122(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Transparency and accountability of non-governmental organisations funded from the EU budget (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the transparency and accountability of non-governmental organisations funded from the EU budget
Amendments (47)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the EU has designed transparency and accountability mechanisms to ensure that EU funds awarded to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are used effectively, efficiently and in line with the EU’s objectives, policies and financial rules enshrined in, among other places, the Financial Regulation, which lays down transparency as one of its guiding budgetary principles, requiring the Commission to make available, in an appropriate and timely manner, information on EU funds;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas an analysis of FTS data shows that grants awarded from the EU budgetEU financial commitments to NGOs, after excluding EU programmes in the field of education and research, amounted to at least EUR 2.6 billion in 2022, under direct management, across all EU programmes and funds; whereas the totfinal amount of grants awarded1a to NGOs is likely to be higher1b owing to the absence of a definition of an NGO or of clear differentiation between NGOs and not-for-profit organisations (NFPOs) in the FTS11 ; _________________ 1a If a grant includes multiple partners, the total amount appears in FTS. 1b Amendment suggested by Civil Society Europe. 11 Overall amount of grants awarded from the EU Budget to NGOs in 2022, based on FTS analysis – approx. EUR 3.7 billion.
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas NGOall beneficiaries of EU funds are required to maintain accurate and transparent financial records, including on the use of EU funds, as they are accountable to their members, and origin of financial sources used for their functioning, as they are accountable to national authorities, their members, other public or private donors, partners and beneficiaries regarding the actions they take, the sources of their financing, including EU funds, and the decisions they take on behalf of their stakeholders; use of these funds1a; _________________ 1a Amendment suggested by Civil Society Europe.
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the vital role played by NGOs in linking civil society with political decision-making in all EU policy areas; highlights, in particular, their role in implementing the EU budget and representing civil societypromoting and defending the rights and values enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union (TEU), and the fundamental rights under the EU Charter at European, national, regional and local levels; notes that NGOs play a key role in enabling citizens’ access to civil, political, economic, social, cultural and environmental rights; stresses, therefore, that NGOs must be protected, including through the provision and access to regular and adequate public funding at all levels; acknowledges the diversity of NGOs as regards their size, resources and staff;
Amendment 34 #
1 a. Highlights, in particular, the obligation that NGOs role in implementing the EU budget and representing civil society is carried out by a full respect for the EU financial rules and principles of the protection of the EU financial interests; stresses its strong believe that only the NGOs whose actions don’t go against the rights and values enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union (TEU), and the fundamental rights under the EU Charter, should be entitled to financing from the EU public funds;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines that areas of social policy, environmthe ability to seek, secure and use resources other than the EU funds or public funds on national or local levels, including foreign resources, is essential policy and development assistance require public support beyondto the existence and operation of any NGO and an inherent part of the right to freedom of association; recalls, therefore, that NGOs should have non- mutually exclusive access to both public financial support as well as private donations at all levels;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights that volunteer and civil society organisations, as described in the first paragraph, deserve the utmost respect and gratitude for the daily work they do in helping others in our society, particularly if they are supporting, for example, social work, cultural engagement, sports education, emergency aid; recognises the millions of hours of mostly low paid or even unpaid volunteer work done by thousands of volunteerindividuals and groups across Europe on a daily basis and affirms that these volunteer NGOs deserve the highest praise and support;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recognises the important role that NGOs play in saving and improving lives on a daily basis, as a cornerstone of society in Europe in providing much needed support to communities in various areas, including in social support,promoting the rule of law and fundamental rights, social work, culture and education, charity work, integration work, in providing health support for elderly and disabled people, in cultural fields, in cleaning, protecting and restoring the environment, in research and innovation and in many others;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Points out that laws andin practice the legislative processes often neglect the voices of local, regional and national NGOs, while favouring the priorities of large NGOs, that the priorities and needs of smaller local and regional NGOs are often ignored or have less attention paid to them, despite the fact that these smaller and regional groups often do the majority of the work; emphasises that the work of small and regional organisations is to be paid the highest respect, as they represent the true diversity and variety of volunteer work performed acrossknow the situation best and do the majority of the work on the ground; further points out that EU funding tends to favour funding for larger NGOs or funding to international organisations given also the important but burdensome administrative and reporting requirements; calls on the European Commission to further progress on simplication and streamlining, as well as increasing regranting mechanisms, so as to enable more smaller NGOs including at the local level to apply and benefit from EU funding1a. _________________ 1a Amendment suggested by Civil Society Europe; .
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Commends the crucial role of NGOs in the EU and elsewhere in defending the rule of law, fighting corruption and promoting respect for human rights and democracy; reiterates that in countries with authoritarian or non- democratic regimes, NGOs often represent the last line of defence of democracy; insists on the importance of adequate EU funding for NGOs active in these fields; 1a; _________________ 1a Amendment suggested by Civil Society Europe.
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Is convinced that public transparency is vital for NGOs to showcase their valuable work, be recognised and build their credibilityexcept in cases when NGOs operate in full compliance with EU values, EU financial rules and in full respect for the EU Charter of fundamental rights but operate in democratically challenged environments;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Recalls that the following findings and recommendations are based on the conclusions of the transparency and accountability study and address further weaknesses concerning the handling of EU funds by NGOs; transparency of the use of EU funds by the European Commission1a; _________________ 1a Amendment suggested by Civil Society Europe.
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Emphasises that the term NGO is a broad umbrella term embracing many different kinds of organisation: from large international organisations to small regional or local ones, from organisations run mostly by professionals to those consisting mostly of volunteers; highlights that the subject matter covered by NGOs and the method of implementation can also vary substantially, for instance, some NGOs may do work that is highly theoretical (for example the work of some think-tanks), or political (for example politically affiliated NGOs) whereas others may be very hands-on (for example the daily work that firefighting NGOs engage in across Europe); emphasises, therefore, that different types of NGOs should be differentiated when analysing levels of transparency and efficiency, and that a better definition of NGOs should be established at the EU level; , or political, whereas others may be very hands-on; emphasises, therefore, that any additional transparency-related obligations must take into account the resources, size and staff available to an organisation, as well as the scope of their activities1a; _________________ 1a Amendment suggested by Transparency International EU.
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Reiterates the call for a common definition of an NGO made in the recommendations from the 2021 Commission discharge resolution13a ; calls for a common definition of an NGO at EU level, in particular for NGOs receiving EU funding; is of the opinion that this definition should provide minimum common conditions for definwelcomes the NGO definition as proposed in the draft regulation amending the Financial Regulation, referring anto NGO; considers that such minimum conditions must include the form of an organisation, the objectives it pursues, its level of formal or institutional existence, the accountability of its structures to its members or donors, its level of independence from government, other public authorities, political parties or commercial organisations,s as ‘voluntary, independent from government, non-profit organisation, which is not a political party or a trade union’1b; _________________ 1a Texts adopted, P9_TA(2023)0137. 1b Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the commerCouncial or professional objectives it pursues on behalf of its members; _________________ 13 Texts adopted, P9_TA(2023)0137. n the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (recast), 2022/0162 (COD), Art 2 (48).
Amendment 104 #
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Notes that the spectrum of NGOs receiving EU funding covers a wide range of structures, ways of functioning, sources of financing and focus areas, which translates into a variety of projects that are financed with taxpayers’ money; notes that the Commission uses the terms NGOs and NFPOs without a clear definition in the FTS; regrets that all this can sometimes results in a lack of public transparency in the allocation and monitoring of EU funds and might lead to a lack of public trust; misperception of the volume of funding for NGOs; Suggests introducing distinction for nonprofit entities such as foundations, universities, professional organisations1a; _________________ 1a Amendment suggested by Civil Society Europe.
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Is concerned about possible cases of fraud and irregularities, double funding, corruption or money laundering and conflicts of interest, notably in situations where NGOs thatbeneficiaries of EU funds are members of different international networks or platforms that also receive EU funding are at risk of conflicts of interest, double funding, corruption or money laundering; is concerned about the lack of publicly available data on the fraud cases involving NGOs; calls on the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) to compile and provide such data to Parliament and the ECA and to draw up a list of NGOs that have broken the law; calls on the Commission to make Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES) fully operational to allow for an efficient exclusion of all EU funds beneficiaries in breach of the EU Financial Regulation, from the further access to EU public funds;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Is concerned that public transparency requirements can be circumvinsuficiented, especially when money is passed along a chain and used to fulfil the purposes of other donors; highlights that the FTS does not provide any information about how EU funding sub-granted under indirect and shared management is distributed among NGOs, on what basis or for what purpose; considers this highly problematic, as large amounts of funding are committed through indirect and shared management; calls on the Commission to verify the re-allocation of funds and their use by the final beneficiary by imposing appropriate reporting and publication requirements in line with annual reporting by the Member States and the Commission on the implementation of the European structural and investment fundco-fund joint projects with other donors;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Highlights that the FTS does not provide information about how EU funding sub-granted under shared management is distributed down the line; considers the risk their actions might go against the rights and values enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union (TEU) or the fundamental rights under the EU Charter; calls on the Commission to verify the allocation of large amounts of funding committed through shared management and their use by the final beneficiary by imposing appropriate reporting and publication requirements in line with annual reporting by the Member States and the Commission on the implementation of the European structural and investment funds;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Regrets that a lack of transparency makes it possible for powerfulthe system in place can not fully prevent foreign actors to establish, fund and/or co-opt EU-funded NGOs in multiple Member States to promote false narratives, including through disinformation, apparently in order to influence EU policy through different actors, as happened in Qatargate; underlines that the EU budget must not be used to lobby against the EU’s democratic principles and values; reiterates that foreign influence on EU policymaking may be possible through NGOs; calls on the Commission to require NGOs in receipt of EU grants to publish details of any funding received fromcalls on the European institutions to improve the implementation of their transparency standards, including the obligatory reporting of lobbying activities, as addition to other measources in relation to projects co-financed by the EU over a five-year period14 ; _________________ 14 See: transparency and accountability study, recommendation 2.to improve transparency of EU funds beneficieries, as described in this report;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls for national lobby registry laws to also require the disclosure of donors and their international financial chains;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Recalls that certain organisations that engage in illegal activities and act against the EU’s values have been registered and are operating in Member StateMember States are responsible for registration and control and reporting of cases of detection of fraud, misuse of funds or money laundering convictions or ongoing investigations; believes that national administrations, which are closer to the ground, must assume responsibility for being the first effective layer that could stop organisations that are acting illegallyagainst illegal acts or and against EU rules;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on national authorities to take legal and administrative measures that facilitate action at EU level and make it easier and quicker for the Commission to include such organisations in the Early Detection and Exclusion System (entities concerned in the EDES) and exclude them from EU funding; calls for such a requirement for Member States to be included in the proposal for an NGO regulation;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Regrets that public transparency is negatively impacted by the publication of data in the FTS is published with a delay of between 6 and 18 months; calls on the Commission to publish information about EU grants awarded to NGOs no later than 6 months after the date on which the grant was awarded15 , including funding received from other sources, such as foundations; calls on the Commission to develop and integrate data validation tools so that the FTS data validation process is automatic and continuous, is quicker and consumes fewer resources16 ; _________________ 15 See: transparency and accountability study, recommendation 5. 16 See: transparency and accountability study, recommendation 7.
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Criticises thoseRaises concern and points to the higher financial and legal risks in situations in which substantial co-funding is awarded from the EU budget to NGObeneficiaries that are clearly and predominantly financed by non-EU states, networks or foundations and that deliver research that regularly negatively impacts European industry and transport providers; urges the Commission to trace the flow of funds from the first donor in order to prevent damage to the EU economy;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Regrets that the Commission’s systems are not very transparent and that their data differuse different conventions to identify beneficiaries of projects and grants, resulting in differing data, making it difficult to reconcile information from different publicly accessible Commission portals and databases, because they use different conventions to identify beneficiaries of projects and grants; recommends that the Commission establish harmonised rules and standardise the layout and functionalities of programme-specific databases;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Calls on the Commission to use a common unique entity, such as a unique participant identification code, and project identification keys across all portals and databases, including on beneficiaries’ websites, to facilitate the reconciliation of publicly available information provided by different systems and websites; calls on the Commission to provide all NGO grant beneficiaries with code that extracts five years of funding data directly from the FTS and includes links to the corresponding project entries in the Commission’s programme databases17 ; _________________ 17 See: transparency and accountability study, recommendation 19.
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Observes inconsistencies in the content and extent of the information displayed on project websites and notes NGOs’ insufficient clarity on grant distribution among partners and on the connection to pertinent Commission databases; calls for a more proactive approach from NGOs to public transparency that goes beyond the current minimal requirements for EU grant funding18 on the connection to pertinent Commission databases; calls for a clearer and more systematic presentation of information on NGO and EU-funded project websites on the grant funding received from the EU and from other sources for both specific projects and overall, and on project objectives, results and impact; _________________ 18 See: transparency and accountability study, recommendation 17.;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Notes that, although the mainstreaming of the eGrants system as a common grants management tool and applicant registration system across Commission services has improved the quality and completeness of FTS data, more effort needs to be made to improve the reliability of such data; is concerned that there are still continuing shortcomings in terms of consistency in existing Commission transparency portals and systems; further calls for a more user- friendly FTS that is linked to the Transparency Register and compatible with specific programmes’ databases, and highlights that it should include final payments and a clear definition of NGOs, making it possible to identify beneficiaries by category; requests that the Commission prepare a proposal for further administrative action by 1 June 2024;
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal to set up, based on Article 36 of the Financial Regulation, a singlecentralised, interoperable IT system for data mining and risk scoring to improve the efficiency of the internal control of budget implementation; underlines that this system must not only include recipients’ data, but also the data of beneficial owners in accordance with Directive (EU) 2015/84919 ; calls for this system to include risk indicators based on data from the EDES under all management modes; _________________ 19 Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Directive 2006/70/EC, OJ L 141, 5.6.2015, p. 73.
Amendment 217 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Demands that the guidelines for contracting external expertise, including by the political groups, better emphasise that onlyany funding of organisations that work based on verifiable facts are eligible for funding; demands that the recipients enter into a correspondinghave acted against the rights and voaluntary commitment prior to funding and that the Commission and the ECA carry out corresponding random checks; rejects any funding of organisations that have demonstrably spread false information and/or whose goals are directed against the fundamental values and recognised principles of the EU’s social market economyes enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union (TEU), and the fundamental rights under the EU Charter is non-eligible;
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Notes thatRegrets the coexistence of reporting obligations and accounting practices at the national and EU levels may lead to a disproportionate administrative burden for NGOs; calls on the Commission to ensure that reporting obligations at the EU and national levels are consistent in order to guarantee easier monitoring of the fulfilment of obligations, especially for smaller NGOs; calls on the Commission to develop a common monitoring system to identify final beneficiaries, as is already the case in regional policy; recommends that such a system should be based on the monitoring principles under shared management that apply to EU Member States; calls also for an enhanced dialogue among the European Commission and NGOs beneficiaries of EU funding on how to reduce excessive burden1a; _________________ 1a Amendment suggested by Civil Society Europe.
Amendment 240 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Calls on the Commission to ensure that all applicants or beneficiaries of EU funding, including NGOs, are required to publish annually the number of lobbying contacts they have, along with their nature and their monetary value; reiterates in this context the need for a comprehensive financial pre-screening of these entities before they are listed in the EU transparency register; calls for a transparency officer to be placed in allfor introduction of a specialised training on transparency rules for both EP staff and MEPs to assure at least one member of the EP staff in every committee secretariats and relevant administrative units; recalls that, according to the transparency register guidelines, changes in the data provided should be communicated as soon as they occur and, in any case, within three months; insists that any changes in the board or leadership of EU-funded NGOs should also be recorded in the and at least one MEP and a member of staff in political groups take on a role of a 'transparency officer', responsible for advising on EP transparency registerules;
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Recalls the recommendations from the 2021 Parliament discharge resolution22 calling for a revision of the EU transparency register and its guidelines to require the disclosure of details on all funding sources from registered organisations, including the shares held in other companies, and to allow EU funds to be traced from the direct recipient to the final beneficiary when funds are passed along a chain, including when funds from one NGO or stakeholder are transferred to another; _________________ 22 Texts adopted, P9_TA(2023)0138, paragraph 74.
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
Amendment 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
Paragraph 40
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41
Paragraph 41
Amendment 287 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
Paragraph 42
42. Reiterates its call in the 2021 Commission discharge resolution24 for the creation of a public blacklist of NGOs that have engaged in activities such as hate speech, incitement to terrorism, religious extremism, supporting or glorifying violence or spreading unfounded scientific statements or that have misused or misappropriated EU funds and are listed in the EDES database in order to ensure that theyto ensure that EU funds beneficiaries, listed in the EDES database, are blocked from access to EU institutions and EU funding programmes; expects a proposal on this to be put forward by the Commission no later than 1 July 2024; _________________ 24 Texts adopted, P9_TA(2023)0137, paragraph 19.
Amendment 294 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
Amendment 298 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44
Paragraph 44
Amendment 306 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
Paragraph 45