33 Amendments of Katalin CSEH related to 2023/2122(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1
Citation 1
– having regard to the Treaty on European Union, in particular Articles 2, 3 and 11(, 5, 11(2) and Protocol (No 2) thereof,
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas in line with the principle of subsidiarity only the funds directly awarded to NGOs have been subject to monitoring and reporting by the Commission so far;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines that monitoring European values, Democracy, the Rule of Law, Fundamental Rights and fighting corruption and areas of social policy, environmental policy and development assistance require public support beyond private donations;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Points out that laws and the legislative process 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 organisationsNGOs emphasises that their work is to be paid the highest respect, as they represent the true diversity and variety of volunteer work performed across Europe;
Amendment 63 #
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;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Is convinced that public transparency is vital for all for profit or for non-profit organisations, including NGOs, to showcase their valuable work, be recognised and build their credibility;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Is of the opinion that the allegedAcknowledges the importance of transparency and accountability in preventing corruption cases like the one referred to as Qatargate and the role certain NGOs played in it couldat it may have been prevented through the consistent enforcement of existing transparency requirements and an obligation for NGOs to disclose their sources of funding and their internal structures; notes with concern that the relevant NGOs have profited from EU funding since 2015; considers it unacceptable that the use of funds and transfers to other organisations are not entirely traceable; warns of the danger that EU taxpayers’ money could ultimately be used within corrupt circlesrecommended by the Parliament; emphasises the importance of ‘final beneficiary transparency’ for EU NGO fundsin every type of financial management in the EU;
Amendment 82 #
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 NGOstransparency requirements for the use of EU funds by the Member States and the Commission;
Amendment 98 #
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 resolution13 ; 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 defining an 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, and the commercial or professional objectives it pursues on behalf of its membersWelcomes the proposal for a definition within the Financial regulation; _________________ 13 Texts adopted, P9_TA(2023)0137.
Amendment 112 #
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 and distinction in the FTS; regrets that this results in a lack of public transparency in the allocation and monitoring of EU funds and might lead to a lack of public trust, as well as policy planning and might lead to a misperception of the volume of funding for NGOs;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Stresses that reporting obligations and transparency should be in place to ensure that EU money is well spent while avoiding unnecessary burdens on organisations; Believes that current EU legislation on scrutiny, due diligence and transparency is likely sufficient with minor adjustments, which should apply to all beneficiaries of EU funds, and could, inter alia, address the concerns expressed by the European Court of Auditors, for achieving proportionate transparency goals ; Emphasises that the overlap of additional reporting/public disclosure obligations with other already existing measures under the pretext of concern about corruption and foreign interference should be avoided in order not to create an environment of excessive state monitoring;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Is concerned that public transparency requirements can be circumvented, especially when money is passed along a chain and used to fulfil the purposes of other donors; hHighlights 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 purpoallocated, including to NGOs; Emphasizes that not all Member States provide the same level of information and there is no consistent and coherent EU data base ; 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 funds;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Calls, on the Commission to step up its work on streamlining databases and on increasing user-friendliness of the Financial Transparency System (FTS) to improve transparency and accessibility; stresses that, within the FTS, all types and subtypes of beneficiaries, including for- profit organisations, should be searchable as a category in the register, rather than providing distinct categories just for NGOs or non-profits;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17 b. Recalls that circumvention of transparency and accountability requirements cannot be prevented or remedied by creating new, burdensome rules on transparency and accountability, such as setting up a single, interoperable IT system for data mining and risk scoring including recipients’ data and beneficial owners’ data, income, amount spent on lobbying, or conducting comprehensive financial pre-screening of NGOs before they are listed in the Transparency Register, or developing a centralised certification system for NGOs wishing to apply for EU funding, which create further legal and administrative obstacles and may hinder smaller NGOs from receiving EU or foreign funds; calls on the Commission to facilitate better support for applicants when accessing EU funding as well as increased institutional funding for organisations;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 c (new)
Paragraph 17 c (new)
17 c. Appreciates that the Commission enhances the access status for the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) in order to obtain information on the financial misconduct of individual NGOs, investigate them and impose appropriate sanctions in the event of fraud, corruption and other irregularities related to EU funds in compliance with the applicable regulations;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 d (new)
Paragraph 17 d (new)
17 d. Appreciates that the Commission ensures that all applicants or beneficiaries of EU funding are required to publish annually the number, amounts and nature of lobbying contacts they have, and welcomes that a growing number of EU- funded NGOs publish online their pursued interests and financial data in compliance with the applicable regulations, while adding that a more proactive approach from NGOs to public transparency would be expected that goes beyond the existing requirements for EU grant funding;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Regrets that a lack of transparency makes it possible for powerful actors to establish, fund and/or co-opt EU-funded NGOs in multiple Member States to promote false narratives, including through disinformation, apStrongly underlines that the EU budget must not be used to lobby against the EU’s democratic principles and values; recognises therefore the importance of transparentlcy 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 valuesall aspects of EU-funded activities to ensure responsible and accountable use of funds; acknowledges concerns regarding potential external influences on EU policy-making; reiterates that foreign influence on EU policymaking may be possible through NGOvarious channels, including diplomatic ones; calls on the Commission to require NGOall foreign organisations in receipt of EU grants to publish details of any funding received from other sources in relation to projects co-financed by the EU over a five- year period14 ; _________________ 14 See: transparency and accountability study, recommendation 2.
Amendment 150 #
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 chainsfor the creation of an EU wide transparency register for all organisations carrying out interest representation activities as a means to tackle undue influence;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Amendment 162 #
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 organisationsentities concerned in the Early Detection and Exclusion System (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 164 #
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 (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 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Regrets that public transparency is negatively impacted by the publication of data in the FTS 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 194 #
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 201 #
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 and 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 209 #
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 223 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
Amendment 230 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Notes that there might be a conflict of interest in the EU institutions if the legislative branch were influenced by the executive branch; calls for the Commission, the EU agencies and other EU entities and institutions to be required to make their contracts, agreements and work programmes with NGOs available without delay to members of the Committee on Budgetary Control by 1 February 2024; regrets that multiple requests by the rapporteur for access to contracts between NGOs and European agencies have not been followed up and that a request must be made via the chairperson of the Committee on Budgetary Control; calls for access to contracts to be given to members of the Committee on Budgetary Control without delay;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
Amendment 265 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39
Paragraph 39
39. Calls for all EU-funded NGOs to publish onlinethe publication of all meetings with MEPs,by MEPs’ assistants or representatives of other EU institutions, bodies or agencies whenever such meetings relate to ongoing EU legislative affairs or to the EU financing that NGOs receive or apply for, in line with similar obligations for MEPs; calls on the relevant EU institutions and bodies to provide the tools necessary for the publication of such meetings;
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40
Paragraph 40
40. Reiterates its call made in the 2021 Commission discharge resolution23 to adopt an NGO regulation by 1 June 2024 that includes harmonised minimum requirements for NGOs across all EU entities and a clear definition and categorisation of the fields of activity and size of NGOs and that provides for the necessary conditions for NGOs to receive EU funds; insists that there should be a clear distinction between regular NGOs and ‘public utility NGOs’; calls on the Commission to establish simplified procedures for small NGOs; _________________ 23 Texts adopted, P9_TA(2023)0137, paragraph 20.
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41
Paragraph 41
41. Calls on the Commission to ensure that, when preparing its proposal for the NGO regulation, to take into consideration the exisiting transparency rules valid for all entities incuding important questions on issues relating to, but not limited to, clear definitions, revolving doors, transparency in financing and donations, the fight against money laundering, limiting foreign interference, independence from political and economic influence, whistleblowing, and transparency in actual leadership and ownership are dealt with in a sufficiently transparent manner;
Amendment 289 #
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 NGOentities 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 they 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.