Possible criticism of the Court of Audit on NGO funding by the EC

LUXEMBOURG (ANP) – “Information about EU funding, including for lobbying, is neither reliable nor transparent,” summarized Laima Andrikienė from the ERK. “However, transparency is key to credible participation of NGOs in EU policymaking.”

Between 2021 and 2023, NGOs received 7.4 billion euros for important EU policy areas such as the environment and migration. The Commission funded 4.8 billion of that, and the member states contributed 2.6 billion euros. The Court of Auditors also raises concerns here. There is no reliable overview of the EU money going to NGOs, and the information is published in a fragmented manner.

“This hinders transparency, complicates research into whether EU funds are overly concentrated on a small number of NGOs, and limits insight into the role of NGOs in EU policy,” the Court of Auditors concludes.

Public transparency is important, but particularly for NGOs, Andrikienė said during a press conference. “It is all about providing good information to citizens so that they can hold public decision-makers accountable. This means not only knowing to whom, why, and for what purpose EU funds have been allocated, but also how they have been used, the amounts involved, and whether the recipients have adhered to EU values.”

European funding for NGOs is an extremely sensitive topic in Brussels. The discussion reignited earlier this year after several media reported that the European Commission had subsidized environmental organizations for years, in exchange for which they had to lobby for the Green Deal of former Commissioner Frans Timmermans.

This alleged “green lobbying scandal” has not been investigated by the Court of Auditors.

(April 7, 2025)