C 342/252
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
6.9.2022
Thursday 17 February 2022 (25)
Information on the identity of founders and members of non-profit organisations that are natural persons can constitute sensitive information.
Member States should therefore ensure that any requirements leading to the processing of such personal data is without prejudice to Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) (General Data Protection Regulation), and in particular Article 9 thereof;
(26)
Every person should be free to decide whether or not to join or remain a member of a non-profit organisation, and organisations should be free to determine their rules for membership, subject only to the principle of non-discrimination.
Membership in a non-profit organisation should not constitute grounds for the application of penalties or restrictive measures, unless it is a consequence of the enforcement of criminal laws.
(27)
Rules concerning non-profit organisations should be in accordance with the principle of non-discrimination.
This includes the obligation for Member States to ensure that any person or group of persons wishing to form an association should not be unduly advantaged or disadvantaged in relation to another person or group of persons.
(28)
The implementation of rules concerning non-profit organisations should be undertaken by regulatory authorities that act in an impartial, independent and timely manner in line with the right to good administration.
Decisions and acts affecting the exercise by non-profit organisations of their rights and obligations should be open to independent review, including by a court or tribunal.
(29)
Simplifying and easing bureaucracy and regulatory requirements, respecting the self-governing nature of non-profit organisations, ensuring that those requirements are not unduly burdensome, streamlining rules on formation, registration and de-registration, and modernising related procedures and systems is necessary to ensure a conducive environment for the operations of non-profit organisations across the Union and to enhance transparency and trust in the sector.
To that effect, general obligations as regards the simplification of administrative rules as well as specific obligations as regards certain aspects of the regulatory framework should be established in this Directive.
(30)
Non-profit organisations contributing to the public benefit play a particularly important role and should therefore be granted favourable treatment in all Member States under uniform conditions.
(31)
In line with the principle of necessity and proportionality of restrictions on the right to association, prohibition and dissolution of non-profit organisations should always be measures of last resort and should never be the consequence of minor infractions that can be rectified or remedied.
(32)
A set of rules on equal treatment, cross-border conversions and mergers concerning non-profit organisations should be established with the aim of facilitating mobility of non-profit organisations across the Union.
(33)
The freedom of association is a fundamental right, and while Member States’ legislation might not recognise associations that are not formally established, that should not affect the right of such associations to exist and operate within their territory.
(34)
Non-profit organisations enjoy the right to exist and be active in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter, even when their registration has been arbitrarily refused by authorities of their Member State of establishment.
(35)
Non-profit organisations should have the freedom to seek, receive and use financial, material and human resources, whether domestic, foreign or international, for the pursuit of their activities.
Non-profit organisations across the Union have reported having increasingly difficult access to resources including public funding and there are concerns in an increasing number of Member States as regards the proportionality of strict rules being adopted concerning non-profit organisations' access to foreign funding.
In addition, philanthropic organisations have reported difficulties in providing donations or grants in some cases.
It is therefore necessary to establish principles
(3)
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1).