EUROPEAN UNION: A roundtable at the Parliament about EU funding of questionable entities
HRWF (21.11.2025) – On Thursday 20 November, IMPAC – the International Movement for Peace and Coexistence – held a Roundtable at the European Parliament about a number of questionable cases of funding by the EU and some of its Member States.
In his keynote speech, Nigel Goodrich, the General Secretary of IMPAC, raised a number of issues of particular concern that fed the debate:
“Our topic is EU and member state funding to politicised NGOs, highlighting the risks of radicalisation, based on NGO Monitor’s 2025 findings – including their analyses on funding involving entities linked to proscribed groups – in light of the European Court of Auditors’ (ECA) Special Report 11/2025, published in April 2025, which found that despite some improvements since a previous 2018 report, the transparency of EU funding to NGOs remains hampered by inconsistent classification of NGOs and other issues, with the Commission committing €4.8 billion to over 12,000 NGOs in internal policies from 2021-2023, leading to ongoing opacity in the funding system, weak compliance checks for alignment with EU values, and resulting reputational risks to the Union.
As outlined in the briefing note we’ve distributed, the EU provides significant support, such as the €1.6 billion multiannual package announced in April 2025 for the Palestinian Authority, aimed at recovery and a two-state solution, but with portions channelled through NGOs that have documented ties to proscribed groups like the PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) and Hamas.
For example, between 2011 and 2019, the EU authorised €38 million in grants to 32 such NGOs, including Al-Haq, Addameer, UAWC (Union of Agricultural Work Committees), and PCHR (Palestinian Center for Human Rights), where NGO Monitor has identified over 70 staff or officials with PFLP links through open sources like convictions and social media promoting violence – raising serious concerns about indirect benefits to terrorism despite EU anti-terror clauses and OLAF (European Anti-Fraud Office) reviews finding no direct fraud.
This event is particularly relevant to members of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FORB), co-chaired by Bert-Jan Ruissen and Miriam Lexmann, as it intersects with your mandate to promote FORB in EU external actions and protect against religious persecutions.
Opaque funding to politicised NGOs can inadvertently fuel radicalisation that threatens religious minorities, such as Yazidis facing genocide from Islamist extremism, Coptic Christians enduring attacks in the Middle East, Roman Catholics targeted in conflict zones, and Mormons encountering discrimination where religious freedoms are eroded – aligning with the Intergroup’s efforts to ensure EU policies safeguard these vulnerable communities and prevent violations through stronger vetting and oversight.
The European Parliament’s resolutions, like the May 2025 demand to freeze PA (Palestinian Authority) funding until textbooks remove antisemitic and violent content per UNESCO standards and calls for no funds to terror-linked entities, demonstrate the urgency for reform to maintain EU credibility on human rights.”
Photo: The EU institutions turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to concerns of MEPs? (Credits: HRWF)
