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Political division, foreign influence and fake news threaten trust
Non-governmental organisations in Europe have faced periodic backlash and funding cuts, but attacks toward those receiving public funds have recently escalated both in the political arena and online. Our fact checking team has looked into this.
NGOs have raised the alarm: over 600 European organisations issued a joint statement in April claiming that Members of the European Parliament, fuelled by disinformation, were using “misleading arguments to artificially fabricate a scandal” in order to halt funding for civic groups. NGOs then faced continued accusations of misusing EU funds, including in the mainstream press.
What exactly are NGOs?
NGOs are self-governing bodies independent from government that include associations, charities, foundations and non-profits and are notably not political parties, according to the Council of Europe. But not all member states use the same definition, and some don’t have a definition at all.
At European level, numerous NGOs receive financial support from the EU, largely through the European Fund Plus (ESF+), which is managed by the EU and individual member states.
Are there any reasons to doubt the transparency with which NGOs use funds?
In the context of insufficient transparency and other financial scandals such as MEP’s misuse of funds and corruption through organisations disguised as NGOs, support for civil society organisations has overall been questioned.
The European Court of Auditors, which monitors the use of European funds, has been tracking the way NGOs implement them. While acknowledging efforts to improve transparency, the ECA warned in a study published this year that it “remains hazy”. It provided a long list of recommendations to respond to issues of data completeness and accuracy.
The court found that NGOs received some 7.4 billion euros from 2021 to 2023. That amount accounts for less than 4 percent of all funding from the EU budget during that period, the court said.
So, are the attacks against NGOs reasonable?
Our team has observed that the attacks go beyond the demand for better justification of the use of funds. Such phenomena are often rooted in ideology.
Those promoting anti-NGO rhetoric tend to be involved in politics or otherwise media outlets “espousing populist and xenophobic views,” a Council of Europe 2024 report found. But individuals, religious organisations and private corporations also contribute to the backlash.
Some of the disinformation can be traced back to Russia, a European Policy Centre report found, although the precise identity behind posts or websites can be hard to prove. But it also echoed that “in some cases, misleading stories and falsehoods originating from within the EU were amplified by European anti-immigrant politicians.”
These attacks not only sow disruption and divisions within the EU, it also has longer term impacts on public perception and policy.
Martien Schotsmans, director of Belgium’s Federal Institute of Human Rights, told RTBF that fake news that is repeated by traditional media or politicians becomes reinforced as fact.
A slew of disinformation about migrants in Spain last year resulted in a significant rise in belief that immigration was among the country’s main three problems, according to a study by the Centre for Sociological Research (CIS).
The shift in public attitudes toward distrusting and defunding NGOs not only reduces these groups’ capacity to continue their often vital work, but it also infringes on the freedom of association, dissuades civic engagement and ultimately harms democracy, according to a recent European Civic Forum report.
On Wednesday (12 November), the European Commission presented a new strategy to support NGOs, including financially. It noted NGOs and civil society groups need “sustainable and transparent funding” in the face of attacks and threats amid a “shrinking civic space”.
Additional deliverables: For this monthly fact check, I also research and produce a much longer in-depth report for Euranet journalists to supplement their reporting on the topic, as well produce a pre-recorded radio story of the public-facing article.