‘Shocking’ abuse. European NGO's received a whopping €7 billion in EU support from 2021 to 2023, but that funding lacks both transparency and accountability, a new report by EU auditors concluded, writes Euractiv’s Nikolaus J. Kurmayer.
The auditors' startling assessment comes as Brussels has been openly wrangling over the role of EU funding for NGOs and suggests that the problem is far deeper than previously realised.
“We found that EU funding for NGOs is too opaque and suffers from a lack of transparency,” Laima Andrikienė, who led the investigation, said.
The Commission “did not properly disclose certain EU-funded advocacy activities such as lobbying,” nor are there “active checks that the NGOs funded respect EU values,” she told reporters today, adding that these “shortcomings expose the EU to reputational risk.”
Since the EU executive overhauled its funding guidelines in May 2024, NGOs and their progressive political allies have accused centre-right politicians of using authoritarian tactics to suppress unwelcome voices.
A central allegation was that bureaucrats misused NGOs to break the executive-legislative barrier via secret contracts awarded to environmental groups through the LIFE programme.
In the new report, auditors said they found evidence of abuse, but stopped short of declaring a structural problem.
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| Click on the picture to read the story | [Photo by Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images] |
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Privacy fears. Tech companies and privacy hawks are pushing back in both the UK and the EU on mandatory rules to catch the distribution of child pornography over fears such systems could be used for broader surveillance online, writes Claudie Moreau.
“Zero-for-zero.” The EU has proposed scrapping tariffs on all industrial goods traded with the US, in a last-minute bid to stave off the American “reciprocal duties” set to enter into force this week, writes Thomas Moller-Nielsen.
Meanwhile, China vowed not to yield to “blackmail” from the United States, as the global trade war sparked by President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs showed little sign of easing—despite a momentary stabilisation in battered stock markets.
How any EU crackdown on Big Tech will work? Commission is flexing its digital laws with a series of cases targeting US tech juggernauts such as Meta, Apple and X, teeing up the possibility of an incoming deluge of huge fines on American tech companies, writes Anupriya Datta.
Deadline looming. With a change in EU telecom policy looming, beneficiaries of liberalisation are growing concerned and scrambling to make their case to Henna Virkkunen, the Commission's Executive vice-president for telecoms, writes Théophane Hartmann.
Shielding EU pharma. While pharmaceutical companies appear to be exempt from US President Donald Trump’s tariffs for now, EU lawmakers in Brussels want to give off one impression – keep calm and carry on, write Emma Pirnay and Magdalena Kensy.
High stakes. The European Parliament’s environment committee (ENVI) is set today to back talks with the Council on easing gene-editing rules for crops - but major clashes still loom over labelling and patenting provisions, write Maria Simon Arboleas and Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro. |
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| Click on the picture to read the story | [Thierry Monasse/Getty Images] |
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| LUXEMBOURG The German government's narrative that its border controls cause no disruption and improve security is false, said Luxembourg's Interior Minister Léon Gloden as his country increases pressure on Berlin to reverse course. Read more.
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BERLIN | PARIS France dethrones Germany as top EU asylum destination for “first time in years.” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser reacted with praise to media reports that Germany has apparently ceded its position as the EU’s top destination for asylum-seekers to France. Read more.
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BERLIN
IEA calls on Germany to 'clarify' role of gas in future energy strategy. The International Energy Agency sees Germany "at an important inflection point" and suggests the future government to "diversify supply sources with LNG" to stabilise prices. Read more. |
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| RIGA Latvian state-owned airBaltic sacks CEO. Martin Gauss, the CEO of airBaltic, the 97.97% state-owned Latvian airline, was dismissed today, reads a report by the Latvian transport ministry. The ministry cited a lack of confidence in Gauss, who has run the company since 2011, expressing this at a shareholders' meeting. “It is important for me to see results. airBaltic is a company of national importance, and it must be capable of developing independently and adapting to external conditions," said Latvia's transport minister, Atis Švinka. In 2024, while airBaltic suffered losses worth €118.2 million it also signed a strategic investor agreement with German flag carrier Lufthansa. The deal allows the Lufthansa Group to invest €14 million in a minority stake in airBaltic. (Juris Sokolovskis) |
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| Click on the picture to read the story | [Stefano Guidi/Getty Images] |
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| ROME A new power struggle is unfolding within Italy’s ruling right-wing coalition, as Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini (Lega/PfE) intensifies pressure on Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi. The clash is widely interpreted as part of Salvini’s broader attempt to reclaim political influence and take back control of the Interior Ministry - one of the country’s most powerful posts. Read more.
Health commissioner clinks glasses at Italy wine fair. The EU’s health commissioner Olivér Várhelyi made a controversial appearance today at Italy’s leading wine fair in Verona – Vinitaly – while the World Health Organization is calling for tobacco-style cancer labels on alcohol due to health risks. Read more. |
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| WARSAW Tusk government to review state abuses under PiS rule. Poland's justice and interior ministers announced the formation of a commission to investigate abuses of power against civil society during the previous conservative PiS government. The ministers made it clear that the commission would not be an investigative body, but would collect documentation on violations of freedom of speech, the activities of state services and the operation of public media under PiS' eight-year rule. A commission to rule them all. “This commission will deal with topics related to freedom of association, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression," Justice Minister Adam Bodnar told a press briefing on Monday. “We saw a great need to address the misuse and abuse of power, and the creation of flawed mechanisms used to persecute citizens - from high-profile incidents in Warsaw to people being harassed just for protesting in some remote town,” Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak added. Bodnar said the commission would make recommendations to the authorities within a year to prevent similar cases from happening again. During this period, the commission will produce three reports, the first of which will be on public media. (Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)
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PRAGUE
EU response to new US tariffs ‘weeks away’, Czech minister says. The EU’s response to newly announced 20% “reciprocal” tariffs from the United States will come a little later, Czech Minister Lukáš Vlček (STAN, EPP) said, noting that impact assessments are still being prepared - both for these measures and for additional tariffs targeting the automotive sector. “I think the package itself will be discussed within a matter of weeks, but we won’t reveal the timing just yet,” Vlček stated when asked by Czech media about potential EU countermeasures. He warned that the situation in Washington remains fluid. “It could all be different in a week or a month,” the Czech minister said. According to Vlček, the EU’s main goal is to reach an agreement. He underlined the strategic importance of transatlantic relations, not only in terms of trade but also broader security concerns. That is why it is essential that the partnership with the United States “is not destroyed, but that we look for ways to continue it,” he concluded. (Aneta Zachová | Euractiv.cz) |
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| Click on the picture to read the story | [EPA-EFE/ROBERT GHEMENT] |
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| BUCHAREST Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu’s controversial decision to appoint two special envoys for relations with the United States - widely viewed as unsatisfactory - has sparked unrest in Bucharest. Tensions escalated after one of the appointees made public statements that contradicted Romania’s official stance on Ukraine and its relationship with the European Union. Read more.
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SOFIA European Commission closely monitoring EPPO Bulgarian member case. The European Commission has been informed of the scandal involving European Prosecutor Teodora Georgieva from Bulgaria and is monitoring the case, according to European Commissioner for Justice Michael McGrath in Sofia. Read more. |
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| EU: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen participates in video conference with Pharmaceutical Industry representatives, as part of EU Strategic Dialogue; High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas on official visit in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Hercegovina; Holds meetings with Foreign Affairs Minister Elmedin Konakovic, Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers Borjana Kristo, members of the Presidency; Visits Butmir military base to address personnel serving with EU’s operation Althea peacekeeping mission; High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas on official visit in Tirana, Albania; Speaks at 1st EU-Albania Security and Defence Dialogue; Attends signing ceremony of European Investment Bank loan agreement; Holds meetings with President Bajram Begaj, Prime Minister Edi Rama, Minister of European and Foreign Affairs Igli Hasani, Minister of Defence Pirro Vengu; Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera participates in Structured Dialogue with Parliament’s ECON Committee; Vice President Henna Virkkunen hosts UN Women Deputy Executive Director and Assistant Secretary-General Kirsi Madi; Internal Affairs and Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner meets EU Special Representative for the Gulf Luigi Di Maio; Energy and Housing Commissioner Dan Jørgensen participates in Energy Solutions launch; Trade and Economic Security Commissioner Maros Šefčovič receives American Chamber of Commerce to the EU members; Holds video condeference with Minister for Trade and Tourism of Australia Don Farrell; Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos meets Deputy Prime Minister of Moldova for European Integration Cristina Gherasimov; Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra on official visit in Brasilia, Brazil; Holds meetings with Vice-President and Minister for Development, Industry, Trade, and Service Geraldo Alckmin, President of the Senate Environment Committee Fabiano Contarato, Minister for Environment and Climate Change Marina Silva; Parliament President Roberta Metsola delivers opening address at inter-committee meeting with Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, via video connection; Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety votes on Water Resilience Strategy, Plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques, and more. |
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| *** [Edited by Vas Panagiotopoulos, Charles Szumski, Daniel Eck, Sofia Mandilara] |
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