WRITTEN QUESTION E-2379/97 by Wilfried Telkämper (V) to the Commission (10 July 1997)

Subject: Allocation of Commission grants to (German) development NGOs

Since November 1991 a private foundation in Germany which is supported almost exclusively by state authorities and is financed from tax revenue has been awarding a seal of approval to humanitarian and charitable organizations that finance their work (abroad) largely from donations. The seal is intended to guarantee transparency, soundness and effective use of resources by the organization concerned.

The Central German Institute for Social Questions (DZI) in Berlin has since gained for itself a monopoly position as the 'donation MoT centre' and so influences in particular the competition among German NGOs for public funds, including the EU Commission's. This position of power is disturbing since the test criteria and procedures for awarding the seal are virtually impossible to understand and there are known cases of the DZI unjustifiably defaming certain NGOs. There is also discrimination against small NGOs. I would therefore ask the responsible services of DG VIII/ECHO:

1. To what extent does the Commission avail itself of the opportunity of obtaining specific information from the DZI on German NGOs that apply to the Commission for assistance for their projects, and how far does the Commission base its decisions to assist or not to assist certain NGOs on the DZI's recommendations regarding eligibility for assistance or on the list in the 'donations bulletin'?

2. Is the Commission aware of the criteria applied by the DZI in its appraisal of eligibility for assistance, and does the Commission consider these criteria (specifically: 'appropriate advertising and administrative costs') and the test procedure applied by the DZI to be a suitable basis for an objectively correct judgment of the eligibility of NGOs for assistance?

3. What information and recommendations besides those emanating from the DZI does the Commission take into account before deciding on NGOs' applications for EU money?

4. Given the growing number of NGOs, is the Commission considering the introduction of uniform EU-wide test criteria, what requirements of its own does it already expect NGOs to satisfy, and how does it ensure that smaller organizations have equal access to EU resources?

Answer given by Mr Pinheiro on behalf of the Commission (14 October 1997)

1. The Commission and the DZI (Deutsche Zentralinstitut für soziale Fragen) occasionally exchange information on German NGOs. If the Commission has any doubts about the eligibility of a German NGO (Chapter 2 of the general cofinancing conditions) it consults the DZI as well as other bodies such as the Development NGOs Liaison Committee, VENRO (network of German NGOs), the DPWV (another network) or the BMZ/BENGO (Cooperation Ministry, Bonn).

2. If an NGO obtains a DZI 'label' this does not constitute for the Commission a condition of eligibility. It contacts the DZI only in a small number of cases, for example when an NGO whose eligibility is questionable claims to have a DZI seal of approval. The Commission takes its decision in the light of its own criteria and the information available to it.

The DZI regularly sends written information to the Commission such as a list of NGOs with the DZI seal of approval or information on the criteria for obtaining it.

3. The decision on an NGO's eligibility for cofinancing (under budget heading B7-6000) is taken after examination of the documents and information that the NGO has to furnish under the general cofinancing conditions. These documents are examined to ascertain whether the proposal is justified. The decision takes account of the framework in which the project will be implemented (such as the economic situation of the country or region, the population concerned, other parties playing a role and project viability) and takes account of the observations of Commission representatives on the ground.

4. Eligibility criteria for the projects and for NGOs are set out in the general conditions and are the same for all NGOs from all Member States requesting cofinancing under budget heading B7-6000. It is well known that all NGOs are treated on an equal footing whatever their size or nationality.