12 Amendments of Jutta STEINRUCK 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 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Points out that EUEmphasizes that NGOs are an important partner for the Union and play a valuable role in European policy and programme delivery across policy areas; points out that the proper implementation of European programmes such as the ESF, EaSI, ESF and FEAD cannot be implemented withoutdepends on a strong NGO involvement;
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 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses the importance of NGOs being operationally and politically independent;
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 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Stresses the importance of non- governmental organizations not being 100% dependent from governmental funding in order to ensure their operational independence;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3d. Stresses the need that Members States guarantee that there are no political links between the NGOs and the governments;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. NWelcomes the Commission's efforts in ensuring simpler and faster access to funds in recent years but notes that there is still work to be done to streamline and simplify application processes; notes that many NGOs have difficulties in accessing ESF funding and are disproportionately burdened by the complexity of programmes and reporting requirements; calls on the Commission and Member States to step up support in this area; and to reduce administrative burdens for NGOs;
Amendment 78 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes that many EU social NGOsNGOs in the Union work in areas covered by different Commission Directorates-General (DGs); calls on the Commission to make it possible to combine operational grants from more than one DG and to ensure that it is possible to claim overheads in action grants while receiving operating grants, especially in cases where NGOs receive only small operating grants in terms of percentage of their total expenditure;
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 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;