ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
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DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(75)504
Vol.1975/0192

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COMMISSION OPTHEEUROE3AN COMMUNITIES
COM(75 )504final .
Brussels ,6October 1975
Relations between theEuropean Communities and
theNon-Governmental Organisations (NGOS )specialising
inDevelopment Cooperation
(Communication oftheCommission totheCouncil )
COM(75 )504final .

OBTECT OPTHF ,DOCUMENT
mmmm––w– i –x -
Thepurpose ofthis Commission communication totheCouncil
istoshow that thescope oftheprojects carried out laythe
non-governmental organisations specialising indevelopment
cooperation should bewidened inthecontext oftheCommunity 's
development policy ,
Atnational level ,these organisations areincreasingly
receiving financial support from thepublic authorities of
theMember States fortheir projects inthedeveloping countries
which ,though generally onasmall scale ,areofgreat value »...
Itisappropriate that theCommunity should beable tomake use
ofsuch possibilities .
Tothis enditisproposed that theCommunity andtheNGOs ,
whose action isoften complementary ,should beable tocarry
outjoint development projects .Theconditions ,objectives ,
criteria and joint financing arrangements aredescribed briefly *
This communication should facilitate approval ofArticle 938
intheCommission 'sbudget proposals for1976#

Relations between "theEuropean Communities and
theRon-Governmental Organisations (HGOs )
specialising inDevelopment Cooperation
INTRODUCTION ,,
A.large number pfnon-governmental organisations intheMember States
orthedeveloping countries ,often ofavoluntary nature ,are
carrying outsnail andmedium-scale cooperation projects inthe
developing countries ,particularly inthesocial andtraining
fields ,.Thegfe areprojects forwhich direct action laythepublic
authorities does notappear tobesuitable for ,various reasons }
forexample ,because theadministrative costs forsmallrscale
projects financed explusively from public funds arevery high ,or
because theadministrative procedures relating topublic funds are
toocumbersome andtake toomuch time ,particularly as'theprojects
areoften of*anemergency nature . .
These projects areofjgreat economic ,social andpolitical value
andarevery effective .But ,although there are 'alarge number of
projects ^their coordination isoften inadequate orthey -
are left uncompleted owing toalack
offunds .Moreover ,they aregenerally complementary tothe
development "projects carried outinthedeveloping countries byj
thegovernment authorities 'or*byinternational bodies .Forthese
reasons ,non-governmental organisations ,which receive financial
support from various private sources ,areincreasingly receiving
financial ,support from thepublic authorities oftheMember States .
Atthepresent time ,theCommunity assuch does nothaVe anypractical
,jneans < ofmaking useofsuch organisations asintermediaries
incooperation projects . .Theonegeneral .exception tothis rule is
food aid,where theCommunity distributes asizeable part ofits
.emergency aidviaorganisations such astheRedCross ,and .thechurch
.organisations *, Thefavourable experience
gained from using non-governmental organisations asintermediaries
•«/••

-2-
inthis field confirms theusefulness ofthis type ofaction .
Account should also betaken ,forthepurpose ofcomparison ,cf
thonotinconsiderable official role that theagricultural UGOs
play intheCommunity inthecontext ofthecommon agricultural
policy .Inother words ,theNGOs cangenerally speaking playa
positive roleatCommunity level within their ownspecialised fields .
DEVELOPMENT CFRELATIONS BETWEEN THECOIIMUNITY AHDTHENGOs
SPECIALISIN GINIEVELOPITENT COOPEPiT ION
Thescope ofaction bytheNGOscould ,itseems ,beusefully widened
infuture inthecontext eftheCommunity *sdevelopment policy .
Inrecent years ,contacts havebeendeveloped between officials
running NGOs specialising indevelopment cooperation andthe
Commission 'sdepartments andhaveshown that it .isincreasingly in
theinterests ofboth sides tointensify these relations .Thiswas
further confirmed byarecent informal meeting held inJunebetween
theNGOs andtheCommission which wasattended byabout for^y
representatives ofNGOs inthenineMember Stater -.
Outofthewiderange ofNGOprojects ,twomainfields seemtolend
themselves tocoordination .
Thefirst field istheinformation /education ofEuropean public
opinion ;theimportance ofthis'field totheCommunity isevident ,
andtheCommission will notfail 'to thematter itsfull attention
intheconttezt oftheaction inhard andplanned under itsinformation
;^hc^other *field is1concerned ona,morepractical level withdevelopment
projects inthedeveloping countries andinparticular withjoint
financed schemes tohelplocal communities ,especially intheform
ofmicropro jects andemergency aid.
TheCommission andtheNGOsthathavebeencontacted feelthatthe
'moment isparticularly .suitable formaking useofsuch joint
financing possibilities .Theconditions governing such joint
financing areexamined below .Given thenewlevel ofinterdependence
between thedeveloping countries andtheindustrialised countries ,

particularly those ,in.Europe ,theCommunity development policy will
r .* .
realise itsfull potential only when allpolitical ,economic and
social forces areinvolved ini+,Forthis reason aitheUGOs must
beassociated with this policy ,andthesupport ofthese experienced
organisations will enable Community action toadapt even more closely
tonewdevelopments inthefield . ' .?1
JOOTT COMUMTY-ITGO IEVELOFMMT PROJECTS ,~
Thecomplementary nature oftheHGOs' andtheCommunity 'sdevelopment
projects 'should hestressed *Thediversity andexperience ofthe
ITGOs provide ahigh degree ofadaptability andflexibility ,which
canbeused tosupplement atalesser cost projects financed bythe
Community orbyofficial assistance from theMember States# The
complementary effect ,ofEtJOandCommunity action works both ways :
theCommunity could ,attherequest oftheorganisations ,,support
HGO ,projects .of ;;established ,value butwhich the .Community isoften
unable tocarry outitself within the^ecessary time or.wi^h the
appropriate means' ,while theUGOs could very usefully ..supplement
' ' ! '' ° f
•theCommunity 'sprojects atthelatter 'srequest andwithin their
ownspecialised fields .Ittherefore seems appropriate toundertake
V ,••,
joint EBC-4TG0 development projects .However ,Community subsidies
and' joint financing schemes could besubject totwoprior conditions ,
'' fi-... ' '5asinfact isgenerally thecase when theGovernments oftheMember
States usethis type ofarrangements ' f>.»
–theprojects must "beaccepted bytheauthorities oftherecipient
countries andcorrespond "totheir development priorities ;
–/they must involve financial .participation onthepart ofthe
UGOs and,ifpossible ,pjiysical participation onthepart ofthe
recipient country .
A.tthesame time ,theCommission recognises that itisimportant to
respect theindependence ofthe ITGO 'stoWhich theCommunity is
giving itssupport ,andthecollaboration procedures must take this
.into account •
•*/••

«4-
Subject tothese conditions ,theCommission considers it .desirable
toundertake the joint financing cfprojects which correspond to
certain objectives .TheCommission isinfavour of:
Undertaking onthis basis inboth associated andnon-
associated countries , certain snail-scale projects which
canbeimplemented atalesser cost bynon-governmental
organisations than under therelatively cumbersome procedures
traditionally used bypublic funds .
2«Supplying financial assistance tonon-govcrninontal organisations
which areundertaking with private financial resources they have
mobilized themselves anumber ofextremely worthwhile aidprojects .
3.Coordinating atCommunity level projects which were previously
carried out inparallel byNGOs intheMember States ,
Inthis context ,small-scale NGOprojects complementary tothose
oftheCommunity 1could bocarried out, particularly in
therural ,social ,training andhumanitarian fields ,orintheevent
ofnatural disasters (e.g. training ,health ,emergency assistance ).
Theprojects would beapproved .bytheCommunity onaflexible basis ,and
the ITGOs receiving Community financial support would beresponsible
fortheir implementation .Ingranting these funds intheform of
subsidies ,theCommission would apply thefollowing criteria ;
1»Except inthecase ofemergency projects ,.anyCommunity support
'foranoperation tobecarried outbyanon-governmental
organisation isconditional upon asubstantial contribution
being made bytheorganisation itself outoffinancial resources
ofprivate origin .Theextent ofCommunity participation should
notexceed 5^* this way ,Community resources would have a
definite multiplier effect asreg'arch finance andwould beextended
'tofields where the NGOs' experience ofthebackground would be
invaluable .•
••/••

MnOT
?
2.Prioritywouldbegiventonon–goverrunerrta1organisations working
inanumberofMemberStatesandtocertainnon-governmental
organisationsofrecognisedstatusinthedevelopingcountries.^
ItshouldbeborneinmindthattheprojectscarriedoutbytheNGOs
varyverywidelyasregardstheirobjectives,thescaleofthe
financeinvolvedandtherecipientdevelopingcountries.Thecosts
ofsuchprojectsaregenerallyrelativelymodestbutcannevertheless
varybetween1000u.a.and100000u.a.accordingtothenatureof
theproject*Consequently NGOprojects -.which.sciay..qualifyfor
'•*' ■., ■■■ ■
Communitysupportareboundtovaryastopurposeandscaleof
financing *.The-objectivesandcriteriasetoutabovewillserveas
abasisfortheCommission'schoice. ' ■
Thefinancingarrangements mustbedrawnupinaccordancewiththose
appliedbytheMemberStateswhichcarryoutjointfinancingoperations
withtheNGOs.TheCommissionshouldnotintroduceanyinnovations
herejitwouldtakeaccounteftheMemberStates*experience,
possiblywithcertainadjustmentstotakeaccountofthespecific
Communitysituation,andwoulduseexistinginstrumentsand
accountingprocedures.Thesearethemajorguidelines,objectives,
criteriaandarrangements inaccordancewithwhichjointCoramunity-lTGO
developmentprojectscould,theCommissionfeels,becarriedoutin
futureinthedevelopingcountries.
IVCONCLUSION
Thecomplementary natureoftheNGOsandtheCommunity'sdevelopment
projectsandthepositiveattitudeoftheNGOsconcernedtowardsthe
CommunityleadtheCommissiontotheconclusionthatacloserassociation
ofthenon-governmental organisations intheCommunity'sdevelopment
policyisdesirable *
TheCommissionisreadyatanytimetoindicatethemostimportant
NGOsintheMemberStateswithwhichithashadcontactsuptonow

Inparticular,' the ^Commission feels -thai ;thetime hascome to
carry out joint development projects .
TheCommission would recall that ,forthis purpose ,itintroduced
inthe1976 "budget proposals ,a"budget article (no.938)for
5000000u»a«asaidforcooperation projects carried out "by
non-governmental organisations inthedeveloping countries#
TheCommission attaches great importance totheapproval of
this article "bytheCouncil ,
Itwill "beremembered ,moreover ,that theEuropean Parliament
itself proposed theintroduction of "budget .entry ofthis kind
when itexamined thedraft "budget for1975 *
Tostunup,'theinvolvement ofthe'NGOs intheCommunity 's
development policy will widen thevision andsdopc ofthat
policy andwill make itpossible toestablish links "between
complementary action tothe "benefit ofboth sides# .

FINANCIAL ANNEX
} '·:··■··" ,·ν·.-:. ■ .-.·ν·
■ - ■A;.GENERAL FEATURES
;s i
1.Budget entry involved .
Article 938ofthepreliminary draft budget for1976 .
2.Title ofthe "budget article
Aidforcooperation -projects with thedeveloping countries carried out "bynon­
governmental organizations (NGOs ).. .
" " • v <-• ' <i ;>...;,j
3.Legal basis • •' >,
Proposal submitted totheCommission on17September 1975
(Doc .VIII/a/5/63755 )•
4»Description ,objective andjustification ofthis action
Theobjective isthe joint financing ofmicroprojects inassociated or
non-associated developing countries ,thus permitting thecumbersome
procedures andconsiderable administrative expense involved when official
aid isused forthis type ofoperation tobeavoided .
■>.Appropriations
Inits .prelimiijary draft budget for1^7° » Commission proposed an
appropriation ,of.pooooou.a.forthese projects .This amount ''
constitutes anannual minimum andwill beadjusted ,insubsequent financial
years onthebasis ofthepractical experience gained . '
Inview ofthewide diversity oftheprojects tobepart financed bythe
Community budget (thecost could range from 1ooou.a .tolooooou.a.),
theappropriations under this entry will becommitted atavery steady
rate from thebeginning ofthefinancial year .

Thediversityoftheprojects,thecostofwhichwillbeveryvariable,
necessitates suitablemethodsof,.calculation -whichtakeaccountin
particularofthefinancingpriorities,thescaleoftheoperation,the
numberofrecipientsinthefield,thelocationof.theprojects,etc.
Proposedsystemofcontrol
TheCommissionintendstosetupaflexiblecontrolsystem,:takinginto•
accounttheexperienceoftheMemberStatesinthisfieldandusingas
faraspossibleexistingaccountinginstruments andprocedures.Anujnber
oftheprojectscanbefinancedininstalments,inaccordancewiththe
volumeoffinancerequiredandtheirdegreeofurgency.
B.ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Operatingexpenditure
Atthepresentstage,the'Commissionihtendstocarryouttheobjectives
covered^bythisbudgetentrywiththestaffcomplementlaid,downbythe
budgetauthorityforthe1976financialyear* - .V
Financingoftheprojects ■s -
Exceptinthecaseofemergencyprojects,Communityparticipation in
projectsundertakenbyNGOsmaynotexceed5Theremaindffmustcome'
fromoutsideresources,paticularlyofprivateorigin./inthieway,the
fundsprovidedbytheCommunitywill1haveaclearmultipliereffect'
fromthefinancialangle. •.* V/.