Source: European Parliament
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) activities financed under the EU programme for the environment and climate action (LIFE)[1] did not breach any legal framework, as also the recent audit of the European Court of Auditors ‘Transparency of EU funding granted to NGOs’[2] confirmed. NGOs are free to implement their activities, including advocacy activities.
The Commission has issued ‘Guidance on funding for activities related to the development, implementation, monitoring and enforcement of Union legislation and policy’[3].
The guidance clarifies the activities which should not be accepted by Commission departments as a requirement for EU financing — for instance lobbying activities towards Members of the EU institutions for a specific political purpose.
The Commission’s statement referred to by the Honourable Members was made in the context of concerns expressed by certain groups in the European Parliament about the operating grant agreements with NGOs under the LIFE programme, as a reassurance of its commitment to implement the guidance in the frame of the LIFE programme.
The Commission has stated that it does not require NGOs benefiting from the LIFE programme to implement specific activities involving advocacy activities towards the EU institutions, that NGOs independently propose their work programme of activities, and that this description is then annexed to the grant agreement[4].
In this context, ‘undue lobbying activities’ refers to activities which may entail a reputational risk for the EU.
- [1] https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/programmes/life_en.
- [2] https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications?ref=SR-2025-11.
- [3] https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/common/guidance/guidance-funding-dev-impl-monit-enforce-of-eu-law_en.pdf.
- [4] As stated in previous replies to written questions E-000296/25, P-000595/25 and E-000838/25.