European Parliament sets up a Scrutiny Working Group on NGO Funding

European Parliament sets up a Scrutiny Working Group on NGO Funding

On 19 June, the European Parliament (EP) voted to set up a Working Group on NGO financing within the Budgetary Control Committee.

The proposal, led by the European People’s party (EPP), and backed by the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), and Patriots for Europe (PfE), aims to investigate how certain NGOs are financed by the European Commission.

The creation of this Working Group is an action led by conservative members of the European Parliament, who in the past months accused the European Commission of financing environmental NGOs to lobby on its behalf in favour of the Green Deal. In this context, in April, 550 civil society organisations from 40 countries, including all EU Member States signed a civil society statement underlining the crucial role of civil society organisations to ensure the voice of citizens across Europe are heard in the EU institutions.

EPP press release on the adoption of the Working Group on NGO financing available here.

More information about the civil society statement available here.