The recent publication of a report from the European Court of Auditors (ECA) has revived the debate on the funding of NGOs by the European Union. While reflecting legitimate concerns, the whole discussion seems to be fed by some sensationalism and even half-truths, with some arguing that the final goal is to undermine both the reputation and funding of NGOs critical of the current direction of the EU. Early this year, MEPs, mostly from the right of the European political spectrum, had accused the Commission of funding NGOs with the view to lobbying the Parliament to push forward various aspects of the Green Deal. While the Commission admitted that some activities included by NGOs in their work programme might be construed as undue lobbying, the entire idea that this was a ploy from the Commission didn’t seem to have a firm basis. 

The recent ECA report might have been described by some press as “damning”, but what it shows does not equal the discovery of “shocking abuses” by neither the Commission nor well-established NGOs. The text points to the lack of control and checks on the attribution of EU money in various programmes — which was already admitted by the Commission —, the difficulty in assessing how civil society organisations respect EU values, and the fact that some business or government groups masquerade as NGOs to receive funding. There is no dispute that these are concerns which need to be addressed. 

But with the negotiations on the future multiannual budget of the EU in view, there are fears that those findings could be used in bad faith to restrict the part of the EU budget going to civil society, or to target NGOs critical of the push for deregulation or the Green Deal rollback. While the MEPs leading the charge deny it, the conclusions they draw appear to be far-fetched with regard to the available facts. In the meantime, these attacks seem to have already had a chilling effect on the Commission, as evidenced by the delay for civil society funding in health policies.