10 Amendments of Flavio ZANONATO related to 2015/2345(INI)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Is concerned that due to the procyclical nature of public spending the financial capacity and social mission of non- governmental organizations (NGOs) are severely challenged at times when they are most needed; notes that the financial crisis and the subsequent austerity policies had a very negative impact on NGOs in programme countries and beyond;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses the importance of NGOs with regard to addressing severe social problems, such as poverty and social exclusion; recalls however, that this is first and foremost the task of national governments and society at large; points out that NGOs cannot compensate for social policy deficits in the Member States nor replace public actors in the field, rather their work should complement or reinforce public policies;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the need for a legal definition of NGOs at European level; Calls on the Commission and Member States to take all measures necessary to ensure the independence of social NGOs and to provide funding to contribute to the independent assessment of policies; stresses, however that NGOs should only benefit from European financial support if they have democratic structures, provide added value to society at large and adhere to Union law values;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls for a new transparency register at European level for NGO's benefitting from Union funding;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Recalls the special role the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union assigns to social partners which requires adequate financial support;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission to focus social NGO funding programmes on operational grants beyoensure continuity and sustainability in the definition and implementation of NGO funding programmes, particularly by increasing the multiannual partnership agreements and reducing the lead times between the notification of contracts and the first payments; (the sustainability and cone year, in order to ensure continuity and sustainability; tinuity of the programmes are crucial, as is efficient management of funding, in order to ensure that the measures financed are not put at risk. NGOs are continually faced with hiatuses in operational financing contracts and have to resort to loans or overdrafts to ensure that the measures provided for in the contracts with the Commission are actually implemented.)
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on the Commission, in its proposal for a revision of the financial regulations, to consider contributions in kind as eligible expenditure, and to increase the ceiling for indirect expenditure in grants for actions and operating grants; (Owing to the financial crisis and the increasingly limited availability of public and private funding, NGOs are finding it increasingly difficult to find co-financing in cash. Co-financing in kind as working time, volunteering and material contributions have long been accepted by national and international institutions. The ceiling for indirect costs is particularly low for NGO funding programmes (7%) and fails to enable NGOs to cover a large proportion of indirect costs.
Amendment 87 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Points out that in the social field full policy impact is often difficult to identify and measure within one year; callsthe given reporting period, especially in the case of short-term projects; calls therefore on the Commission to better balancimprove the measuring and reporting of output andrequirements of output and impact of NGO's activities, including projects, and to follow best practice examples to assess their impact;
Amendment 89 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Notes that the European monitoring and evaluation systems for NGOs often rely on self-reporting; calls on the Commission to consider increasing the number of external evaluations in order to verify the effectiveness of NGO activities also over a longer period of time as well as within and across different policy areas;
Amendment 93 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Highlights the importance of high transparency standards with regard to ex- post audits procedures; calls on the Commission to develop and apply common guidelines for NGOs audits which are to be respected by both, internal and external auditors;