Irish environmental groups have hit out at right-wing MEPs on the European Parliament’s budgetary control committee for questioning EU funding of civil society organisations and claiming falsely they were paid to lobby in favour of the European green deal.
A bitter dispute is unfolding over whether the European Commission should fund organisations that lobby EU institutions, as some members of the European People’s Party (which includes Fine Gael) want to examine grants awarded to them.
The “atrocious attacks on civil society involvement are orchestrated at a direct EU level”, said environmental law expert Attracta Uí Bhroin of Environment Law Ireland.
In a submission to the EU Rule of Law Process, she highlighted concerns.
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“Autocracies and dictatorships can be fingerprinted by the manner in which they erode and threaten the role of civil society and the accountability of authority to civil society. It is therefore gravely concerning to see concerted moves against civil society emerge across the EU and at its heart,” she said.
New EU institutions have seen pressure to lower standards due to internal and external pressures, “including from the new political realities in the US” and increasingly unstable geopolitical events, said Ms Uí Bhroin, who is a former European Environmental Bureau vice-president. It represents more than 180 organisations in 40 countries.
“The crises we face are being hijacked to drive a deregulatory and profit-centred agenda dressed up in false clothes,” Ms Uí Bhroin said.
The campaign “is a barely concealed attempt to undermine the work of environmental NGOs and attack on democracy”, said Karen Ciesielski, co-ordinator of the Environmental Pillar, which represents 32 environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
“At a time when we are facing the ecological crises of biodiversity loss and climate change, it is vital that funding that promotes environment, nature and climate action is maintained and protected,” she said.
It was crucial that those at the forefront of environmental action were heard and that environmental groups contributed to policy formation and law which help set carbon emissions targets; tackle pollution, promote renewable energy and restore nature, she said.
The move is being led by EPP representative Monika Hohlmeier, a German MEP. Efforts to prevent green NGOs from using EU grant money for political lobbying has reignited a decades-old dispute. The EPP members are demanding scrutiny of contracts of think tanks and business associations, according to letters obtained by Politico. This includes grants to Transparency International and other NGOs in the fields of justice, migration and agriculture.
The committee could end up requesting contracts of all beneficiaries of up to five different directorates-general: environment, climate, agriculture, justice and home affairs.
Ms Hohlmeier flagged concerns about alleged irregularities she spotted in a €15 million grant programme given to green NGOs, under the EU’s main fund for environmental projects, known as Life.
It “is categorically not the case that the European Commission’s environment bureau [directorate-general for environment, DG ENV] told NGOs what to lobby on”, said Ariel Brunner, director of BirdLife Europe at a media briefing.
“If some commission officials have said that they think some improper things have happened then you should ask them where,” said Mr Brunner.
“This is just the current round of a multiannual campaign to weaken civil society organisations, to discredit us, and ultimately, to defund us,” said Nicholas Aiossa, director at watchdog Transparency International EU.
In response to the row the commission said: “To strengthen this partnership, the European Commission has recently issued clear guidance to streamline how it provides funding to NGOs. Accordingly, lobbying efforts from these entities, targeting and naming individuals and representatives from EU institutions with EU funds should no longer occur.”
This was criticised at the briefing for lack of clarity and for failing to condemn unjustified targeting of civil society organisations.
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