Activities of Clare DALY related to 2023/2122(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Transparency and accountability of non-governmental organisations funded from the EU budget (debate)
Opinions (1)
OPINION on transparency and accountability of non-governmental organisations funded from the EU budget
Amendments (10)
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Emphasises the crucial role played by civil society, which comprises, inter alia, grassroots and community organisations, trade unions, activist groups, human rights defenders and non- governmental organisations (NGOs) in promoting and upholding democracy, equality, the rule of law and fundamental rights and in ensuring accountability for state and private actions;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that civil society is a broader category than that of NGOs; notes and takes in grassroots and community organisations, trade unions, activist movements and many others; notes that NGO is typically shorthand for a form of organisation in which salaired professionals undertake civil society work; notes further that while NGOs are, on the one hand, a favoured institutional form of the neoliberal state and therefore rarely truly oppositional, on the other hand many resist instrumentalisation and expose the excesses of state and private interests; stresses, therefore, that they must be protected, including through the provision of adequate funding, including foreign funding; notes that it is short-sighted to treat NGOs as a singular bloc with a singular policy outlook;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Emphasises that the historical development of the NGO sector in post- Soviet states in Eastern Europe and its development in Western Europe are quite distinct, and emphasises that it is essential to recognise that sensitivity must be deployed in addressing issues regarding NGOs in different parts of Europe;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Remains deeply concerned by threats to and attacks on NGOs in Member States, as well as increasing crackdowns and repression of political speech and action at all levels across the EU; strongly denounces that such threats and attacks include actions both against organisations and their infrastructure and against their staff or volunteers, online and offline intimidation and harassment, negative public statements and smear campaigns, verbal threats, and legal and physical attacks; stresses that some NGOs also face excessive administrative controls or audits, politically motivated funding cuts and overly strict legal requirements for their formation and registration;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Is deeply concerned that access to funding, including foreign funding, continues to be hindered by restrictive rules in several Member States, such as burdensome application and selection procedures regarding EU funds under shared management, attempts to introduce rules penalising NGOs, rules on political advertising and foreign interference in elections that affect advocacy and watchdog activities, and funding conditionality requirements and transparency laws that are perceived as stigmatising;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Recalls that civil society actors at all levels need appropriate and sufficient human, material and financial resources to carry out their missions effectively and that the freedom to seek, receive and use such resources is an integral part of the right to freedom of association;
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Member States and the EU to improve the legal environment for civil society by ensuring that any measure restricting the right of associations to seek, secure and use resources, including foreign resources, must pursue one of the legitimate aims under Article 11(2) of the European Convention on Human Rights; calls on the Member States and the EU to ensure that access to funding and other resources for NGOs are made through clear, transparent and non-discriminatory procedures, and without undue impediments;
Amendment 82 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls that transparency and accountability measures must only serve the purpose of ensuring legitimate public scrutiny; stresses that reporting requirements for NGOs must remain strictly necessary and proportionate to the specific aims pursuedrecalls that international standards on freedom of association require authorities to apply a presumption in favour of CSOs' liberty to seek and receive funding from any source; stresses therefore that reporting requirements for NGOs must remain strictly necessary and proportionate to the specific aims pursued; believes that any difference in treatment among civil society organisations concerning the reporting or public disclosure obligations on their funding, should be justified on the basis of objective and reasonable grounds;
Amendment 100 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Believes that current EU instruments are likely sufficient for achieving proportionate transparency goals concerning NGO funding and that the overlap of additional reporting/public disclosure obligations with other already existing measures should be avoided in order not to create an environment of excessive state monitoring;
Amendment 121 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Warns emphatically against the weaponisation of the concept of ‘foreign interference’ and emphasises that this can be and is being used by governments and EU institutions to repress civil society and NGOs; emphasises that the contradictory space of the NGO sector must constantly be negotiated, and that there is no one- size-fits-all approach to dealing with it.