Funding of Brussels NGOs needs to be transparent

Brussels-based non-governmental organisations seeking to influence policy-makers or feeding data into the EU policy process should make public how much public money they receive and from whom, EPP Group members Inge Grässle and Paul Rübig demanded today.

Following an expert hearing at the European Parliament on the use of public money by NGOs, Grässle, who is the EPP Group's Coordinator in the Committee on Budgetary Control, said: "NGOs can be a valuable source for policymakers in providing data and technical information. But in doing so they become part of the political process and need to be transparent because they receive public funding".

"NGOs cannot demand transparency from others and withhold information about their own accounts. This is especially the case for the numerous non-industry NGOs, some of which benefit substantially from EU or member state funding", she said.

EPP Group member Paul Rübig added: "We want transparency, and today's Hearing is an important first step. NGOs use their influence to lobby for a particular issue. Where public funding is involved, the taxpayer has a particular right to know how his money is being spent".

According to European Commission figures presented at today's hearing, 8.275 NGOs received funding from the EU's budget in 2013. The EU paid these NGOs a total of 4.49 billion Euros last year.