This improved dialogue will allow civil society organisations (CSOs) and donors to “exchange experience, identify funding gaps and better ensure complementarity of funding sources”, the strategy says.

In its press release announcing the new strategy, the Commission notes that its recent Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) “has proposed to significantly increase the financial support to CSOs”.

Fundraising Europe asked the Commission for clarity on how significantly that financial support would change. It was told: “The proposed indicative budget of the AgoraEU programme [€9bn] more than doubles the budget of the current financial support to media, culture, rights and values in the EU.”

The Strategy for Civil Society was launched at the same time as the European Democracy Shield, which the Commission describes as a “series of concrete measures to empower, protect, and promote strong and resilient democracies”.

Philanthropy body Philea said in a statement that it welcomes the new strategy, but that some aspects of the plan “remain vague”. Its statement says:

“We are particularly pleased to read that the Commission is planning measures to facilitate access to different funding sources, creating stronger links with private donors. The strategy reflects our asks put forward in the European Philanthropy Manifesto, which calls for stronger public–philanthropic dialogue and an enabling framework that supports foundations and cross-border giving.”

Legal and financial help

In addition to facilitating donor dialogue, the finance section of the strategy contains two further pledges from the commission:

• to work to connect communities of pro bono lawyers with CSOs
• to “explore the possibility of further expanding the use of financial support to third parties schemes across relevant EU funding programmes, where appropriate”

Alongside the financial section, the other two sections of the strategy focus on engagement with the sector through a new Civil Society Platform, to be established “by 2026”, and the creation of a new online “Knowledge Hub on Civic Space”.

The strategy also proposes 10 guiding principles for dialogue between the commission and civil society. Alongside transparency, inclusivity and others, these include resourcing – ensuring that organisations are not excluded from engagement due to limited resources.

The spokesperson also said that the strategy, available in English, would be published in other languages. A factsheet on the strategy is also available, summarising its key points into a one-page document.

Picture by NakNakNak on Pixabay

As we announced in September and October (see our articles here and here), the European Commission published on 5 September 2023 a proposal for a directive on European cross-border associations, already well known by its acronym “ECBA”.

As we already mentioned, there are several advantages to this proposal including:

• Definition of nonprofit purpose and non-profit association (article 2);
• Recognition of the place of associations in the EU and renewal of the essential nature of the freedom of association. An entire chapter is dedicated to the rights of the ECBAs and to prohibited restrictions (chapter 2);
• Mutual recognition of the ECBAs across EU Member States, and possibility of relocation of its registered office within the EU without dissolution or the creation of a new legal person;
• Free and non-discriminatory access to funding from public or private sources.

Agenda

This proposal for a directive is subject to a call for feedback until 8 April 2024. EFA’s contribution is currently under review. European networks as Civil society Europe, Philea and Social Economy Europe are following closely the debates. One could argue that the ECBA status could provide a great basis for European Foundation status in the nearby future.

In the meantime, the Legal Affairs Committee (“JURI committee”) has adopted an amended text which must be submitted to the European Parliament for a vote during the plenary session in April.

On the basis of this voted text and after the European elections (June 2024), the so-called “trilogue negotiations” would start with the Council and the Commission.

Note that the presidency of the Council will be held by Hungary during the second half of 2024. It is not certain that the subject of ECBA will be the priority…

Thus, after European elections, we shall mobilise some allies in the new Parliament and within our own government to ensure the right progress of this subject.

We will keep you posted.

Picture by Lara Jameson on Pexels

The Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has today (February 13) voted by a large majority in favour of the law on the creation of European associations.

The introduction of this new legal form will enable citizens to organise themselves into associations across national borders. It is aimed at improving the Internal Market’s functioning by removing legal and administrative barriers for nonprofit associations that operate (or wish to) in more than one Member State.

The proposal was adopted by the EU Commission back in September 2023. Once adopted, Member States will have two years to transpose the Directive into national law.

The law builds on the Lagodinsky-report by Greens/EFA rapporteur Sergey Lagodinsky on a “Statute for European cross-border associations and non-profit organisations”, which the European Parliament adopted by an overwhelming majority in February 2022. The law takes up longstanding calls from civil society to introduce EU-wide measures to protect them.

Sergey Lagodinsky (MEP, Alliance 90/The Greens), Vice-Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee in the European Parliament and Rapporteur of the Legal Affairs Committee commented:

“With the introduction of European cross-border associations, we are taking a decisive step to elevate the status of non-profit organizations and put them on an equal footing with commercial representations in Europe. Today is a great day for civil society and democracy in Europe!

“Democracy does not stop at our national borders, and many civil society projects long to identifying and constituting themselves as truly European. This has not been possible until now. By founding a European association, citizens can engage more freely throughout the EU and we come a step closer to creating a truly European civil society.”

]]> https://efa-net.eu/features/view-from-brussels/patrick-gibbels-election-season-is-causing-eu-institutional-inertia-but-its-no-time-to-rest/ Wed, 09 Aug 2023 11:10:31 +0000 https://efa-net.eu/?p=11402 […]]]> Election season may be resulting in some inertia at the EU but that does not mean the fundraising community should sit still, says our correspondent from Brussels Patrick Gibbels in this month’s column.

The second half of 2023 is looking to be a hectic period for the EU to say the least. With several major crises already disrupting the Brussels decision-making scene, and the Spanish EU Presidency in disarray due to internal political struggles, the upcoming EU Parliamentary elections are expected to further paralyse the regular policy agenda, causing inertia in the files that are relevant for the fundraising community.

Slow moving files

Over the past year(s) we have been following a number of items on the Brussels policy agenda, on behalf of EFA, that directly or indirectly affect fundraisers and NPOs, such as the e-Privacy regulation, and potential new rules on unaddressed advertising. It can be incredibly challenging for NPOs to determine which EU rules apply to them and how to properly comply. Legal certainty in key areas such as donor outreach and data maintenance is therefore crucial. However, due to their sensitive nature, these files are already notoriously slow-moving and subject to much lobbying, which causes legal uncertainty for all stakeholders involved. Recent crises such as the ongoing situation in Ukraine and the European Parliament’s very own scandal “Qatargate” have slowed things down even further.

EU presidency challenges

As if that is not challenging enough, the Spanish EU Presidency is in disarray due to their own election woes back home. The EU Council is the collective of 27 Member States, and is responsible for setting the EU policy agenda. Every six months, another EU Member State takes the Presidency of the Council and therefore strongly influences said agenda. But since Spain is currently in a governmental crisis of its own, it is unable to carry out the EU Presidency in a unified manner, which causes many policy items to be put on hold – likely until January when the Belgians take over the EU Council Presidency. To top it all off, next June, a new EU Parliament will be elected. This means that after the summer, MEPs seeking to be re-elected will start focusing on their re-election campaigns which, again, hampers the progress of current policy negotiations.

An opportunity for the fundraising community

So, does this mean that we will just have to sit back and wait for things to start moving again? No. I would argue that this period can uniquely be used as an opportunity to make the needs of the fundraising community known. Members of the European Parliament tend to be more susceptible to external input when seeking to be re-elected, and promises might be made a little easier. Organizations that have an interest in influencing EU decision-making would do well to think about running their own campaigns during these election times. Well targeted campaigns can result in commitments made by decision-makers now, that can help the sector in its negotiations later, once the election dust has settled. EFA remains at your disposal.

Patrick Gibbels, Gibbels Public Affairs

About Patrick Gibbels

Patrick is EFA’s public affairs columnist in Brussels.

He is the director of Gibbels Public Affairs.

Follow Patrick @GPA_Brussels.

Read more from Patrick in our View from Brussels column here.

Picture by anisenior on Pixabay

The recommendations came in a European Commission proposal for a Council Recommendation on developing social economy framework conditions.

The proposal recommends that Member States consider tax incentives for the sector including corporate tax exemptions and income tax incentives for donors. It also includes a focus on how to make public benefit cross-border donations easier.

Figures shared by the Commission show that the social economy provides more than 13 million paid jobs, accounting for 6.3% of EU employment, with 2.8 million social economy entities in Europe.

The aim is to advance access to the labour market and social inclusion by helping Member States to integrate the social economy into their policies and by creating supportive measures and a more favourable environment.

The proposal provides recommendations to Member States on:

• how public policies and legal frameworks can be tailored to support the actions of the social economy, particularly in areas where it is less developed
• how administrative and institutional structures can be adapted to support these entities and engage with stakeholders in the sector

It covers various topics including: skills, social innovation, access to funding, public procurement, taxation, social impact measurement and management, and more.

The proposal will now be discussed in the Council. If agreed on, Member States will adopt or update their national strategies for the social economy within 18 months, and the Commission will then monitor the implementation of the strategies through regular consultations with Member States via the Employment Committee and the Social Protection Committee.

Picture by Marco on Pexels

The European Ideas Lab (EIL) session, titled ‘Democracy Now! Civil society building for a stronger Europe’, took place in Warsaw on 3-4 March. EIL is an annual event hosted by The Greens/EFA parliamentary group to find creative solutions to problems.

While the trend in some European countries has been to shrink the civic space through actions including limiting access to public funds or preventing peaceful assemblies, moves are also afoot to transform and protect civic space.

However, the differing legislations that exist across Europe to regulate the NGO sector is a key issue that limits the development of a European civic space. As Francesca Fanucci from ECNL pointed out during the session: “Despite the growing number of NPOs operating across EU Member states, there is currently no harmonised pan-European legislative framework allowing them to operate and organise themselves properly at cross-border level.”

Therefore, implementing a European association statute and minimum standards for member states on how to treat associations and NPOs could help to protect and strengthen civil society organisations throughout the EU.

Member states’ differing understanding of civil society requires evaluation during the development process of a European association statute, with the panel unanimous that the definitions of public benefit organisations should be clear for all, and mutually recognised. Lack of harmonisation is critical in cases, for example, when an NGO wants to move from one EU country to another and finds out not only that its legal form does not exist in that country, but that it cannot even simply convert its current form into an equivalent one. This can result in having to shut down and create a new organisation with all the consequences that this entails in terms of administrative costs, restrictions on access to funding, etc.

NGOs are economic entities like companies, and ought to have same rights to decide their location and to work across borders, the panel agreed. Even though there would be some common basic rules, the state’s sovereignty to decide on rules and laws on areas such as taxation would not be questioned.

The panel also discussed the participation of NGOs in the regulation process. Where there have been consultations on a national level, they are often not public but inclusive only of selected parties. As a result, NGOs have felt that they are not improving anything but fighting against moves and proposals. This led to a question in the audience: Are NGOs perceived as government enemies?

Main photo by Iwona Castiello d’Antonio on Unsplash

During recent years, the EU regulatory environment for civil society organisations has become disproportionately burdensome, and many in the philanthropy and civil society sector have had to deal with discriminatory measures, hampering their day-to-day operations. The crisis in Ukraine underlines the vital role of civil society for democracy. The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly in favour of a report that seeks to alleviate this regulatory burden and its chilling effects on the sector.

Writing for EFA, I’ve highlighted in the past how legislation such as the General Data Protection Regulation, and the introduction of consumer opt-in mechanism in European legislation, has significantly curbed the way in which charities and fundraisers can reach out to potential donors.

Moreover, the COVID-19 crisis has created additional barriers to outreach as it made it impossible to physically approach donors and make collections or to organise events for some time. In fact, in a report, published in June 2020, the EU agency for fundamental rights found that 57% of civil society organisations, both at local and national level, said that they experienced the global clampdown on civil society to have either “deteriorated” or “greatly deteriorated” in light of the pandemic.

Against the backdrop of this report, the European Parliament’s committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE) tabled an own initiative report (INI) on the shrinking space of civil society in Europe in January of last year. Spurred by the recent aggressions against Ukraine, the European Parliament on Monday 7 March took stock of the role of civil society in dealing with the challenges and threats stemming from this crisis, which lead to an overwhelmingly positive vote in favor of the LIBE report (526 votes for, 115 against, 54 abstentions).

Hungarian Member of European Parliament and author of the Report, Anna Júlia Donáth, said: “Civilian helpers at our borders with Ukraine are asking us to support their work, while they are out there representing justice and a more humane approach, in line with the EU’s core values. They are asking us to defend them, so they can do their job undisturbed, and to protect them from oppressive governments who persecute them based on Russia’s example. In light of the war in our neighbourhood, Parliament’s call to set up a framework to protect European civil society is ever more important.”

By means of this own initiative report, the European Parliament calls on the European Commission to develop a number of things on behalf of civil society. The Commission is urged to adopt a civil society strategy that will protect the civic space by introducing minimum standards for the legal and administrative environment of civil society, as well as introducing a statute of European cross-border associations and non-profit organisations. The Commission is also requested to structure its monitoring and create a civic space index, based on existing frameworks for measuring civic space, which serve as a basis for the creation of a secure and enabling environment for civil society organisations.

Policies and practices instilling a chilling effect on civic space have been adopted in certain Member States with the aim of achieving self-censorship and deterring civic actors from exercising their rights.The report emphasised that for civil society organisations to thrive, civic space must be an enabling and safe environment free from undue interference, intimidation, harassment and chilling effects by both state and non-state actors.

The Parliament also urges the Commission to create sustainable and non-discriminatory access to resources. A lack of fairness in funding allocation and an excess of administrative burden have been identified as challenges faced by civil society organisations, as well as restrictive eligibility criteria. The Commission must set out conditions and procedures to ensure that EU funds designated to civil society, whether in direct or shared management, are only awarded to organisations that are strictly independent from any government and fully adhere to the EU values.

Last but not least, the Parliament suggests one of its Vice-Presidents is appointed to carry out a structured and open dialogue with civil society organisations. In this context, the Parliament calls on the European Commission to restore the balance between representatives of corporate interests and those of other interests. And now that the Parliament has approved the Report in its Plenary configuration, the Commission is asked to table a proposal for legislation.

This vote, together with the recent MEP call for legislation to be reformed so that nonprofits are on more equal footing with their for-profit counterparts, suggests a shift in attitude towards the sector – and greater awareness of its key role in strengthening Europe. EFA welcomes this change and the report by the LIBE committee, urging the Commission to take swift action.

Patrick Gibbels, Gibbels Public Affairs

About Patrick Gibbels

Patrick is EFA’s public affairs columnist in Brussels.

He is the director of Gibbels Public Affairs.

Follow Patrick @GPA_Brussels.

Read more from Patrick in our View from Brussels column here.

Main photo by Marcel Strauß on Unsplash.

It’s a common misconception that the rules and regulations organisations are bound by are produced largely by the national governments of their own Member States. In reality, these days, the large majority of laws originates in Brussels. Thankfully, more and more NPOs are beginning to realise this and have either become active at EU level or are looking to do so. Here are 4 key tips to help you make your voice heard in Brussels.

Start in Brussels

Exactly how much national legislation comes from the EU is difficult to assess. The general consensus seems to be that more than two-thirds of all national regulations originate in Brussels, with more recent sources quoting as much as 80%. Naturally, as the EU integrates further, this number is likely to only increase over time.

Unfortunately, as a lobbyist and consultant, I am still approached regularly by organisations wishing to make changes at EU level when it is already too late. When a piece of legislation has reached their Member State, it is often too far down the line to exert any meaningful influence, as the framework for the new rules has already been agreed in Brussels. In recent years, this has become even more apparent as the relatively flexible Directives have largely made way for the much more stringent Regulations. The latter leave virtually no room for negotiation at national level and must be implemented as is, across the EU. It is therefore vital to be aware of what is happening in Brussels at the very early stages, enabling organisations to intervene when and where necessary.

Join or form a collective, they are a powerful lobbying tool

In a sea of voices, it is easy to drown. There are 27 Member States, legions of organisations, and just one Brussels. In terms of staff, the European Commission is no larger than the average civil service of a large European city, yet they serve over 500 million people. Similarly, Members of the European Parliament are bombarded with meeting requests from individuals and organisations from across the EU. The result is that members of both Institutions need to be extremely selective about who they meet.

One key factor they will always consider is representativeness. How many people or organisations do you represent, across how many EU countries. For smaller organisations, and sometimes even for larger ones it can be difficult to be heard amidst all the noise. For those stakeholders, it can be a very good idea to join or form an association or coalition of like-minded organisations. By forming a larger collective, they become a more relevant discussion partner for EU officials, have a much stronger voice, and become more impactful in the EU decision-making process. The most straightforward approach is to join or form a sector specific or trade association, such as your national fundraising association. A strong, collective and unified voice from the sector can be a very powerful tool in the lobbying process.

Communicate – Associations are only as effective as their most active members

Every successful association is built on an active membership. Successful EU lobbying is a constant two-way street between the national Members and the Brussels secretariat. The EU team has the important task of informing its members at early stages of what is in the legislative pipeline. But effective feedback from the national members is at least of equal importance.

To be effective in a lobby it is vital to know the situation in every Member State, so that we can identify potential pitfalls in new legislative proposals and address these accordingly. Decision-makers need to know exactly where the shoe hurts and be adequately informed as to why this is the case, so that they can make the appropriate amendments on behalf of those organisations that would be affected by it.

Therefore, if you wish to make an impact in Brussels, it is important to provide feedback to your EU representatives. Which European rules make your work more difficult? And what potential threat could a proposed piece of legislation be to you or your organisation?

Moreover, whilst Brussels based associations can effectively lobby the European Commission and the European Parliament, influencing the third major European Institution, the EU Council, is not so straightforward. The EU Council is the representative body of the 27 European Member States. Influencing the Member States is best done at national level. For this reason, to be truly effective at EU level, it is essential for the national members of an association to carry the common lobbying message to their national governments.

Branch out and form broader alliances

Whether they are long-term or ad hoc, it is important to form alliances with other Brussels stakeholders too. Other organisations within the EU may have similar concerns to yours regarding proposed legislation and, in most cases, it makes sense to join forces. Many of the secretariats of EU associations are understaffed and under resourced. Pooling resources with other organisations can therefore be an effective tool to increase lobbying power.

A good example of this would be recent lobbying, where EFA worked as part of a cross-industry coalition on the subject of ePrivacy. This is a file that affects many NPOs and other organisations across the EU. Whilst it is difficult to find agreement on every aspect of a legislative proposal, there are certain elements in the ePrivacy dossier that will likely adversely affect many cross-sectoral organisations. In this case it makes sense to form ad hoc alliances, based on these specific elements.

By sharing information and coordinating messages within the alliance, we drastically increase the chances of effectively influencing the decision-makers. Hearing a message from a single association is one thing, but hearing that same message from many different directions will be very difficult to ignore.

Patrick Gibbels, Gibbels Public Affairs

About Patrick Gibbels

Patrick is EFA’s public affairs columnist in Brussels.

He is the director of Gibbels Public Affairs.

Follow Patrick @GPA_Brussels.

Read more from Patrick in our View from Brussels column here.

Photo by RAEng_Publications from Pixabay

This year’s European Commission Work Programme has a very strong focus on completing the European Single Market. In essence, this is good for charities. After all, fragmented rules across Europe can cause problems for organisations, particularly those operating cross-border. However, levelling the playing field should not mean a one-size-fits-all approach, and it is important for the EU to consider the specific nature of nonprofits. A number of initiatives can have a significant impact on the sector and so we are monitoring these files closely. Ones to watch include the following:

Anti-Money Launching and Terrorist Financing

New rules on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Terrorist Financing are due to be published this month. These new rules could mean a heavier administrative and regulatory burden for nonprofit organisations. The way the EU classifies each nonprofit, more specifically whether the organisation is seen as an obliged entity or not, will determine whether they fall within the full scope of the regulation. The sector has therefore been advocating a risk-based approach, rather than a catch-all solution.

One of the main reasons for the EU to update the rules on money laundering is legal fragmentation across EU Member States, making it very difficult for organisations to operate cross-border. It also creates a competitive disadvantage for those nonprofits that are active in the more heavily regulated countries. The aim now is for maximum regulatory harmonisation across the EU. In the most recent move, an EU-level contact point has now been established to assist nonprofits that are active in areas hit by EU sanctions. This person will oversee derogations for these organisations – see this guidance note. We are monitoring developments on this front and will share updates when the new legislative proposal has launched.

Conference on the Future of Europe

To guide Europe’s future policies, the European Commission has introduced The Conference on the Future of Europe. This initiative is a citizen-led series of debates and discussions that will enable people from across Europe to share their ideas and help shape our common future. The outcome of the Conference will be agenda setting and affect the course of future EU actions. It is therefore important that civil society is represented.

75 civil society organisations have signed a joint declaration. The declaration sets out that civil society organisations are intermediaries between individuals and public institutions, as recognised by the EU Treaties.They bring people together in a common cause, set collective goals for the common good and ensure participation and empowerment of all people. As such they should be actively and proactively involved in the different phases of the Conference.

Action plan for social economy

Aiming to boost the contribution of social economy organisations to a fair and sustainable growth in Europe, achieve The European Commission is currently preparing an action plan for social economy, it plans to launch in the fourth quarter of this year. The plan will enhance social investment, support social economy organisations to start up, scale up, innovate and create jobs.

Foundations and philanthropic actors are acting in the social economy sphere in a dual capacity: as social economy actors in their own right, and as funders/investors and partners of social economy actors. Through Philanthropy Advocacy, DAFNE and EFC have drafted a policy paper exploring the role of foundations and other philanthropic actors.

ePrivacy and data protection

Also highly relevant for the sector are the new EU rules on ePrivacy, a file which had started moving again after years of deadlock in the EU Institutions. These new rules can have a serious impact on the daily operations of fundraisers and nonprofits as they dictate what type of donor outreach is allowed and what isn’t, and which data an organisation can collect and in what way these data may be used. The GDPR already brought restrictions to the sector, the e-Privacy Regulation seeks to further tighten these rules. EFA has been working with other organisations who follow this dossier and share our concerns.

As it stands, the European Council is pushing a one-size-fits-all, rather than a risk-based approach, which is not ideal for the nonprofit sector. To help us all understand the Regulation better, EFA is in the process of organising an exchange of views with the European Commission on this matter. This will also provide EFA with an opportunity to inform the Commission of the potential pitfalls of this Regulation for the sector. More news on this will follow.

About Patrick Gibbels

Patrick Gibbels, Gibbels Public Affairs

Patrick is EFA’s public affairs columnist in Brussels. He is the director of Gibbels Public Affairs. Follow Patrick @GPA_Brussels.

Read more from Patrick in our View from Brussels column here.

Main photo by Stephanie LeBlanc on Unsplash