Partnership Principle in Practice

NGO Involvement in the EU Funds Programming, Management and Control

Brussels, October 21-23, 2004

The current EU funds (Structural and Cohesion Funds, Rural Development Funds and pre-accession funds in Romania and Bulgaria) constitute substantial financial assistance to the new member states and will shape the economic, social and environmental development of those countries in the years to come. It is therefore extremely important that the use of these funds is independently monitored by non-governmental organisations. Decisions about their funding allocations must be made in a transparent and democratic way, and with respect to the EU’s overarching environmental priorities. One way of achieving this is through the participation of NGO representatives in steering and monitoring committees set up to coordinate the funds, which is based on the partnership principle mentioned in the EU funds guidelines.

The situation regarding NGO participation in the different new member states varies substantially. While it is understandable that some differences will always exist, it is difficult to comprehend why NGOs can be present at the Steering Committee for the Cohesion Fund in Poland, yet they cannot be given this chance in some other countries. And even when NGOs are present, their legal set-up and ability to voice their concerns is different in different countries. The new member states have a very short ‘history’ of using the EU funds and their experience is based on the pre-accession funds. Therefore it is extremely important to not only exchange information and experience with other NGOs from other new member states but also with NGOs from the previous EU-15 who have been engaged with the EU funds in their countries for much longer.

The conference and its goals:

On October 21-23, 2004, a three-day conference will be held in Brussels, organised by the CEE Bankwatch Network, Friends of the Earth Europe and the Polish Institute of Environmental Economics (Instytut Ekonomii Środoviska). Approximately 50 invited NGO representatives active in Steering and Monitoring Committees of EU funds will participate. The conference will consist of a one-day NGO seminar, followed by one day of discussions with EU officials. The last day will include a strategic NGO session in the morning and, for those interested, a tour around industry lobbies in Brussels organised by the Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) in the afternoon.

The goals of the event are:

• to share experience and exchange knowledge among NGOs involved in EU funds programming and monitoring processes and map the situation with NGO involvement in different countries (positive and negative examples, formal and/or informal obstacles for meaningful NGO participation in the Steering and Monitoring Committees, etc).
• to strengthen NGO involvement in the EU funds programming, management and control processes with emphases on both the current and future (2007-13) programming periods.
• to strengthen cooperation between NGOs from the new and old member states as well as the accession countries Bulgaria and Romania.
• advocate to officials from EU institutions and member states for integration of environmental principles and clear rules on NGO participation (in relation to the new cohesion policy regulations and the new programming period 2007-13).