The European Commission has admitted that grants from the €5.4 billion LIFE programme, the European Union’s funding instrument for environmental and climate action, have been misused to lobby the EU itself.
After pressure from Conservative parties, Brussels acknowledged that NGO work programmes funded by the EU included “inappropriate” lobbying.
In a statement published on April 1, the EC stated it had already published guidance on the type of activities that should not be included when receiving funding as part of policy and legislation development, implementation, monitoring and enforcement.
Sander Smit, a Dutch MEP from the European People’s Party, who had been highly critical of the ‘shadow’ lobbying scandal that broke in January and revealed that the LIFE programme was used to pressure institutions and MEPs into following EC “green” policy. He reacted with satisfaction.
Groot nieuws! De Europese Commissie is vanmiddag toch door pomp gegaan vanwege BBB-bezwaar ngo-lobbypraktijken gisteravond. ??
EINDELIJK geeft Commissie officieel ongeoorloofde ngo-lobbypraktijken toe en komt met interne maatregelen ter voorkoming. ?https://t.co/dkEtqwu6Yc pic.twitter.com/9O4cF8v50Y
— Sander Smit (BBB MEP) ن??️ (@sandersmitwzn) April 1, 2025
“The Commission has finally admitted that, in some cases, the work programmes submitted by NGOs and annexed to the operating grant agreements contained specific advocacy actions and undue lobbying activities,” Smit said.
He claimed the admission “confirms and validates the EPP Group’s concerns about these undue lobbying practices”.
Smit stressed that the changes were “good news” for EU taxpayers.
“It is also good news for those parts of civil society organisations that work transparently and fairly. It is in their interest that the EU Institutions ensure that all NGOs are held to the same standards and rules,” he said.
Initially, the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety (ENVI), had blocked a motion to call for an end to the reported abuse, with left-leaning parties voting against it.
In the end, the pressure on the EC proved too much.
Smit said the situation was not the end but a beginning. “We will continue fighting for transparency and against undue influence.
“The Budgetary Control Committee will now take this further, especially since the Commission has acknowledged that it violated the separation of powers.
“The European Parliament can no longer be manipulated in this way. We will no longer tolerate such practices and a new green lobbying scandal,” he said.
In its statement, the EC said it “has taken action to prevent such cases in the future and will take further measures to strengthen transparency and include appropriate safeguards”.
In its updated guidelines, the body stated: “The grants should comply with the LIFE objectives and support the participation of civil society in European policy-making and democratic debate, while avoiding lobbying that targets specific policies or MEPs.
“This guidance is applicable to all EU funding and is already implemented by all Commission services and relevant agencies.”
To make sure there would not be any further undue lobbying, the EC said it had included extra safeguards in its operating grants and would be working closely with the Court of Auditors.
It further promised to review the transparency arrangements for EU beneficiaries. LIFE evaluation committee members would be mandated to sign declarations on absence of conflict of interest before engaging with the assessment of proposals.
The EC said mitigation measures were in place in case conflicts of interest were identified.
Secret contracts between the European Commission and “green” NGOs were reportedly part of an alleged “shadow lobbying scheme”, according to a Dutch newspaper. https://t.co/cAWxagk9TA
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) January 23, 2025
