Source: European Parliament
Major interpellation for written answer G-001001/2025
to the Commission
Rule 145
René Aust
on behalf of the ESN Group
According to reports on the German television news programme ‘Tagesschau’ (on 7 June 2025) and in the newspaper ‘Welt am Sonntag’, there are allegedly secret agreements between the Commission and politically active NGOs. The NGOs have reportedly been paid to conduct campaigns and legal proceedings in the interests of the Commission. Some NGOs are said to have received up to EUR 700 000 in order, inter alia, to bring legal actions against German coal-fired power stations or to challenge the EU-Mercosur agreement. There have reportedly also been, in return, contractual agreements to influence MEPs in targeted operations, involving lobbying letters and social media posts. Although the Commission denies the existence of secret agreements and has given an assurance that there has been transparency, in April 2025 the European Court of Auditors criticised the lack of transparency as regards funding for NGOs, with over EUR 7 billion having been allocated to NGOs between 2021 and 2023.
- 1.What contracts or agreements has the Commission concluded since 2019 with NGOs or other actors (e.g. firms or platforms) that have provided for an explicit or implicit quid pro quo in the form of lobbying, campaigns or activities before the courts, for example?
- 2.What specific amounts have been paid in those instances and under what budget headings, programmes or earmarking arrangements?
- 3.Which of those agreements are publicly documented, which have not been published or are classified, and what, in each instance, is the legal basis for classification?
- 4.Which Commissioners, directorates-general or other departments have been involved in negotiating, approving and implementing those agreements?
- 5.What lessons has the Commission learned from the public criticism regarding funding practices, transparency and checks?
- 6.Does the Commission regard such funding practices as compatible with Articles 317 and 325 TFEU and the principle of Commission neutrality and, if it does, on what grounds does it do so?
- 7.What internal control mechanisms are in place to ensure that funds granted are not used to exercise undue political influence?
- 8.Has the Commission concluded agreements similar to those described with NGOs or actors in other Member States and, if it has, what are those agreements and with what specific objectives?
Submitted: 10.6.2025