Non-governmental and other civil society organisations strengthen citizens’ participation in EU democratic policy-making through transparent and ongoing dialogue, but just how transparent really is EU funding granted to non-governmental organisations (NGOs)? Our auditors are busy finishing a report after closely studying the subject for a year. We must remember one thing: public transparency is all about providing citizens with proper information so that they can hold public decision-makers to account. This means knowing not only to whom, why and for what purpose EU funds were granted, but also how they were used, the amounts involved, and whether recipients adhered to EU values. Public interest in improving transparency requirements for EU-funded NGOs has increased since the Qatargate scandal in 2022, and recently peaked as the issue has once again become a matter of political debate.

The term ‘NGO’ has been widely used for some time, albeit without a generally accepted definition at international level. With the aim of increasing the transparency of NGO recipients of EU funds, as recently as 2024 the EU defined an NGO as “a voluntary, independent from government, non-profit organisation, which is not a political party or a trade union”, while definitions across EU member states still vary.

Our auditors have been assessing the transparency of EU funding granted to NGOs in EU internal policies such as cohesion, research, migration, and the environment for the 2021-2023 period. We have primarily been examining whether the European Commission, its implementing partners and the member states collected and disclosed reliable data on EU funding granted to NGOs. In addition, we have been checking not only whether they assessed key transparency requirements for NGO recipients of EU funds appropriately, but also whether the NGOs adhered to EU values.

Why audit the NGOs again, and why now? For three main reasons: firstly, the European Parliament’s call for greater transparency and accountability of EU funding; secondly, the important role of NGOs in democratic policy-making; and thirdly, the objective of the EU’s 2024 Financial Regulation: to improve transparency regarding NGO recipients of EU funds. We wanted to follow up on our previous audit report from 2018 on EU funding granted to NGOs, when we focused on EU external policy. This time, we have paid closer attention to internal policies – the other side of the coin – to complete the task.

NGOs receive most of their EU funding through grants, and must adhere to the transparency requirements that apply to all recipients. Our auditors have been looking at the European Commission, some EU and national agencies, and managing authorities for some programmes in three member states – Germany, Spain, and Sweden – that were selected because of the level of EU funding committed to NGOs operating in them.

The report is due to be published on 7 April on the ECA website, so make a note in your diaries and watch this space!