Source: European Parliament
Priority question for written answer P-002320/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Friedrich Pürner (NI)
Serious allegations have been made repeatedly with regard to the Commission’s financial support to NGOs. The European Court of Auditors[1] found in April 2025 that EU funding of NGOs lacks transparency. The awarding practice was described as ‘too opaque’. Moreover, it was noted that NGO activities in the field of lobbying and advocacy were not clearly disclosed. Under the Programme for the Environment and Climate Action (LIFE programme), funding contracts were concluded with environmental associations to provide political support for the Green Deal and provided a firm footing in society. According to media reports[2], these funds are said to have been used to campaign against German companies and to exert a targeted influence on Members of the European Parliament.
- 1.What disciplinary, legal, or administrative consequences will the Commission draw with regard to NGOs and, where applicable, to EU officials involved in the cases mentioned, in particular in relation to ClientEarth (legal action against German coal-fired power plants) and Friends of the Earth (campaigns against the Mercosur Agreement)?
- 2.When does the Commission intend to publish all grant agreements with the NGOs concerned, including the related work programmes, and in what format will this be done?
- 3.What ‘further measures’[3] are specifically planned to increase transparency and put in place appropriate control mechanisms, and in particular does the Commission intend to withdraw the draft implementing decision on the financing of the LIFE programme, as well as the work programme for the years 2025-2027, in particular Annex I, and to submit a revised proposal to the ENVI committee?
Submitted: 10.6.2025
- [1] https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/news/news-sr-2025-11
- [2] https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/plus256221718/geheime-vertraege-eu-kommission-bezahlte-aktivisten-fuer-klimalobbyismus.html
- [3] https://de.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/06/07/europaische-kommission-weist-vorwurf-geheimvertrage-mit-klimalobbyisten-zu-unterhalten-zur