Following explosive media reports in Germany about secret cooperation between the European Commission and environmental activist NGOs, the Co-Chairmen of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group, MEPs Nicola Procaccini and Patryk Jaki, are calling – yet again and more decisively than ever – for the establishment of a parliamentary committee of inquiry

According to the Welt am Sonntag, Commission officials concluded covert agreements with selected NGOs, paying them substantial sums in exchange for coordinated campaigns, legal actions and lobbying efforts. These included efforts to undermine energy infrastructure, trade agreements, and even initiatives supported by other Commission departments or national governments.

The ECR Group has been warning for months about the possible lack of transparency surrounding EU funds allocated to NGOs, and has repeatedly pushed for a full parliamentary inquiry. So far, however, the proposal has been blocked from the agenda by other political groups in Parliament.

According to the two ECR leaders, the recent revelations confirm that a limited working group within the Budgetary Control Committee would be inadequate.

“We have long warned that parts of the NGO sector might have been instrumentalised to push a highly ideological agenda within the EU institutions,” said ECR Co-Chairman Nicola Procaccini (FdI, Italy).

“Now, another series of serious indications has emerged, pointing to orchestrated political activism, covertly funded by the Commission and shielded from democratic oversight.”

“We must prevent this from turning into a fundamental breach of trust in the European Union.”

Co-Chairman Patryk Jaki (PiS, Poland) stated:

“What we are seeing is not a partnership with civil society, but a possible form of outsourced lobbying – financed with taxpayers’ money and used to steer political outcomes in secret.”

“What is at stake is nothing less than trust in the European Institutions themselves – and we must not allow that trust to be fundamentally undermined.”

The ECR Group stresses that the integrity of the EU’s policymaking process is at stake. It reiterates its call for a comprehensive investigation into the scope, conditions, and political objectives behind EU funding of NGOs – to ensure accountability, transparency, and respect for democratic principles.