Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-07-06-Speech-4-391"
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"en.20000706.15.4-391"2
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"Mr President, the Commission has received some 40 different comments on its discussion paper entitled “The Commission and Non-Governmental Organisations. Building a Stronger Partnership”. These comments have been published on its website and on the Europa server. Currently, various working groups set up by the directorates that have most contact with the NGOs are taking the ideas set out in the discussion paper further on the basis of these comments.
Closer involvement of the citizens and new forms of partnership with civil society are among the Commission’s top priorities. That was made very plain in the documents entitled “The Commission’s Strategic Objectives for 2000-2005. In line with these priorities, the President and several members of the Commission have made it clear on many occasions how much importance they attach to the civil dialogue.
The guidelines for best practice in consultation with the NGOs that I mentioned earlier are meant as a first step in that direction. The President of the Commission intends to consider the question of the dialogue with the citizens in the framework of the White Paper on strengthening democracy in Europe. That White Paper will be published by the end of next year.
Regarding the next Treaty, as you know the Commission has already set out its position on the agenda of the current Intergovernmental Conference. The subject of the civil dialogue was not addressed because the main purpose of that Intergovernmental Conference is to prepare the EU institutions for enlargement.
Mr Pronk pointed out in his statement that the problem is not so much one of strategy and objectives but of speed. I firmly agree and would assure him that we will do our utmost to speed things up. But allow me to give you the benefit of my personal experience after nine months of activity within the Commission. It is very difficult to speed up anything in the Commission because there is no other international institution that has to work with as many different and at times conflicting rules and procedures as the European Commission. So perhaps those who would wish certain things to move faster should also try to help simplify the procedures.
At present, these working groups are concentrating on the question of grants to cover running costs and measures to improve consultation with NGOs. This latter point will be dealt with by setting out guidelines for best practice in consultation with the NGOs, as already provided under Action 4 of the White Paper on reforming the Commission.
The Court of Justice’s ruling on case C 106/96 together with the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 October 1998 on the legal bases have altered the conditions for financing social non-governmental organisations. Moreover, the new rules on financing must be observed to the letter in all programmes and budget lines. Against this background, organisations financed in the past will continue to be financed in future only if they satisfy the conditions set out in the decisions on certain action programmes, which will form the legal basis for the budget line in question.
That is why the two programmes could be cofinanced from 2001 on, provided they are approved by the Council, that is to say the Council and Parliament. As stated in the Commission proposals, the rules set out in the guidelines and the procedures for core-funding would have to be observed. A limited number of NGO networks and platforms at European level with experience in combating discrimination and social exclusion would be eligible for grants, for both the programmes I have mentioned do after all relate to discrimination or exclusion.
The criteria for deciding which organisations receive grants will be determined in agreement with the relevant programme committee. The Commission will then approve the annual grants on the basis of detailed work plans and funding plans.
The NGOs have already welcomed the guideline for the administration of financial aid that entered into force in 1999 as progress. The conditions set out in it will be incorporated in the budgetary rules and their implementing provisions in due course. The Commission is well aware of the importance of promoting the civil dialogue ands attaches great value to cooperation with non-governmental organisations, especially in the social field.
Over the past years a large number of social NGO projects have been funded thanks to the setting up of various European networks and the European platform of the social NGOs. The two programmes proposed by the Commission – combating discrimination and social exclusion – should basically cover the running costs of the social NGOs that operate on a Europe-wide basis.
The Commission also takes the view that civil society plays a most important role in the European Union. In effect there are a variety of actions in a variety of fields – social affairs, the environment, education, development, agriculture, etc. – that have helped build up a stronger partnership, as was emphasised in the working document on the Commission and the NGOs adopted on 18 January 2000."@en1
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