Activities of Hannah NEUMANN related to 2023/2122(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the transparency and accountability of non-governmental organisations funded from the EU budget
Amendments (8)
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses that NGOs and CSOs working for the promotion and protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law play an importantessential role in societies around the world; highlights, in this regard, the crucial work of these organisations in collecting public interest information, exploring and proposing new ways of promoting human rights and democracy, informing individuals, especially the most vulnerable, about their rights and standing up for them when those rights are violated, promoting civic engagement and public participation, countering disinformation and hate speech, holding governments and elected representatives accountable to citizens, and fighting corruption and impunity for human rights abuses;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines the need to make moreimportance of ensuring transparent and accessible to the public, the available information on the beneficiaries, including NGOs, of EU external action funds dedicated to human rights and democracy support and to the related EU-funded projects which are implemented worldwide; acknowledges the precarious conditions faced by some human rights defenders and NGOs in non- EU countries; believes, in this regard, that confidentiality and data protection must be ensured in order not to put them at risk;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission to improve the clarity and organisation of information and data available in the Financial Transparency System on the beneficiaries of EU-funded projects to be implemented, in particular, in the field of human rights and democracy support;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recommends that the legal obligations on transparency and financial accountability be applied identically to all human rights NGOs benefiting from EU funding, independently of whether they take on the role of coordinator or memberto all NGOs beneficiaries of an EU- funded project consortiuming;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Points out that human rights NGOs receiving EU funding give visibility to the EU’s support in different ways, and sometimes incompletely, through various communication channels, including official websites; calls for the establishment of harmonised approaches to make EU funding for human rights and democracy support more transparent and visible to the public;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses that the funding by non- EU countries of EU-based legal entities, including human rights NGOs, while also carrying out lobbying or advocacy activities within the EU and aiming to influence EU foreign policymaking, raises questions as to their objectives; denounces the use of organisations sponsored by non- EU country governments (government- organised NGOs (GONGOs)) to spread disinformation and false narratives related, in particular, to human rights issues; highlights that, in the context of recent corruption allegations against some Members of the European Parliament, an NGO, whose stated purpose was to carry out advocacy activities on human rights, is suspected to have been used as a vector of foreign interference; considers that there is a public interest in knowing the financial sources, including non-EU funding, of the stakeholders active in the fields of lobbying or advocacy, while any measures in this regard need to be proportional, preventing any unintended limitations on fundamental rights;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Recognises, however, that the EU institutions, including Parliament, should have beenbe more diligent in ensuring greater transparency, integrity and accountability regarding their framework for interaction with entities listed in the EU Transparency Register; calls in this regard for an increased scrutiny by Parliament's services in order to enforce the amended rules on integrity and transparency as adopted by Parliament on 13 September 2023; highlights that resources should be provided for this as a matter of priority; also acknowledges that further resources in general are needed to strengthen the transparency and accountability of theall lobbying or advocacy activities of legal persons or entities, including human rights NGOs;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Recommends that legal entities engaging in lobbying, including NGOs, be required to register in the EU Transparency Register as a condition for applying for EU grants and receiving EU funding; calls on the Commission to present proposals to enhance the transparency of interest representation bodies and to ensure that lobbying or advocacy activities, in particular on behalf of non-EU country governments, their budgets and their policy scope are properly disclosed under the EU Transparency Register and that false declarations are subject to sanctions., while thoroughly assessing new measures, which shall not create disproportionate burdens nor have unintended limitations on fundamental rights;