
MEPs reject renewed attacks on NGO funding in EU budget review
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The European Parliament's budgetary control committee has provisionally signed off on the EU's 2023 budget, largely voting down attempts by right-wing law makers to include harsh criticism of funding for non-governmental organisations in its final report.
As well as rejecting a joint proposal by members of Hungary's ruling Fidesz party and France's Rassemblement National to condemn an 'enormous EU-NGO propaganda complex', the committee rejected a slew of amendments tabled by conservative European People's Party (EPP) lawmaker Monika Hohlmeier.
Among them was a call for the EU Court of Auditors (ECA) to conduct a probe specifically into the LIFE Programme, the bloc's funding instrument for environmental projects on the ground, a small portion of which supports campaign groups through operating grants.
Last week saw the parliament's environment committee reject a motion calling on the European Commission to halt such funding, after a handful of EPP lawmakers broke with the party line.
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MEPs reject call to halt funding for environmental NGOs
The Luxembourg-based audit office yesterday censured the European Commission for the lack of transparency over its support for NGOs, but found no evidence of wrongdoing in the sample of funding agreements it examined during the year-long investigation.
Niclas Herbst, who chairs the budgetary control committee and drafted its report into the EU's 2023 finances, said the ECA had confirmed its criticism of NGO funding.
'There is a lack of transparency and control as to whether the NGOs in question share our EU values at all. There is still no complete overview of EU funding to NGOs,' said Herbst, who is also an EPP member.
For Carlotta Besozzi, director of the umbrella group Civil Society Europe, welcomed the 'more objective' language adopted by the committee. 'We are pleased to see that much of the language that suggested unfounded problems with the funding of NGOs has been removed,' she said.
But green groups are not out of the woods yet, according to Patrizia Heidegger, the director general of the European Environmental Bureau, which represents a huge network of NGOs in Brussels, with the eurosceptic ECR group pushing for the parliament to establish a fully-fledged committee of inquiry into the funding issue.
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Commission denies singling out NGOs in green funding row
'An inquiry committee in the parliament is usually set up to investigate a real scandal such as
LuxLeaks
, massive fraud, corruption and other processes – not to continue a witch hunt against civil society organizations,' Heidegger said.
The presidents of the various political groups in the European Parliament will have to decide in a weighted vote whether or not to go ahead with this initiative – with the decision effectively resting in the hands of the EPP, the largest group in the assembly.
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France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Hong Kong warns downloading game could be national security crime
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Local France
2 hours ago
- Local France
OPINION: Give up the search for loopholes - French bureaucracy always wins
To egregiously butcher William Goldman's classic line - 'There are no French admin loopholes, Highness, anyone who says differently is selling something'. France's complex admin means that foreign residents and future arrivals are often left looking for shortcuts, easy options and loopholes - an entirely understandable reaction when you consider the bureaucratic pain that France enjoys inflicting on its inhabitants. It's also a famously high tax country, which means that plenty of people are on the lookout for, shall we say, more forgiving tax arrangements. This one is perhaps less understandable - especially if it comes in the next breath after raptures of delight over France's excellent public services - but it's always going to be human nature to try. The thing is - there really are very few genuine loopholes when it comes to French residency and taxes, especially when it comes to non-EU nationals who come within the visa/residency card system. Advertisement Sure, you might think you've found a loophole - but these almost always end up causing you more problems down the line, especially if your goal is to make France your home. When it comes to people who just want to be here for a couple of years there is a little more wriggle room - but for those who intend to stay in France and will therefore eventually be seeking long-term residency and perhaps even citizenship, trying to exploit a loophole is almost always going to cause you further administrative pain in the future. In my experience the people who genuinely set out to cheat the French system are few and far between - a much more common scenario is people who have simply been given bad advice about a shortcut or loophole that they could take advantage of. At The Local we often get emails from readers who are experiencing problems with French systems - and the people stuck in the worst tangles are almost always those who have at one point been given bad advice. Here are some examples; The 80-year-old lady who had been breezily assured that there was no need for her to do a tax declaration in France, and is now living in fear of fines from the tax office for having failed to make the required annual déclaration des revenus . The British second-home owner who had been advised to get a post-Brexit carte de séjour as a way to 'cheat' the 90 day rule and now finds themselves required to make a French tax declaration and re-register their cars. The American tech worker who had been advised to get the 'more straightforward' visitor visa and then simply swap it for a working visa once they arrived and now finds themselves unable to work for months on end while the request to switch statuses is considered, rejected and appealed. Because France is a popular destination to move to, attracting all groups from retirees to young families, students to workers, a whole industry has grown up around giving advice on navigating the French immigration and tax system. Advertisement There's an entire sector of 'relocation experts', 'hand-holders' or 'concierge services' which specialise in helping foreigners to move to France. Many of these services are great and offer sound advice and insight based on experience with French systems. The good ones should also explain future ramifications of your decisions. However, some give wildly differing advice and it's not always easy to know who is right and who to trust. There's no doubt some of these services can be very helpful when it comes to finding a place to live and setting up services like utilities - I used one when I first moved and they were worth every centime in helping to navigate the notoriously tricky Paris rental market. However, if emails from readers are anything to go by, there also seems to be an increasing trend of these services offering legal advice on issues such as residency, visas and tax status. Advertisement While many are very knowledgeable and diligent with their guidance, the reality is this sector is completely unregulated - meaning that you have absolutely no comeback if you are given incorrect advice. More importantly, you will be then one then left struggling to deal with your irregular residency or tax status while the hand-holder has banked the cheque and moved on. Take this one email we received from an American reader who wanted to warn others of the "pain and damage" one expat visa adviser caused them. He said: "We contacted a well-known expat who is regarded as an expert in visa related issues in France. "We paid them €5,000 to organise a passport talent visa. At first, all was fine, but they soon stopped responding to our emails. To make matters worse, they barely did any work for us. "It turned out that there are dozens of fellow expats in the same position." Advertisement So what can people do? The standard advice is to talk to a lawyer for anything related to residency, and an accountant for tax advice. But even here there are caveats - first you need to ensure that your expert is qualified and registered in both France and your home country, and that they specialise in advising expats/immigrants. Second is that you need to speak to both - a lawyer will undoubtedly give you good advice about visas, but will that leave you with tax problems? The lawyer might not flag that up, because its not their area of expertise, but that doesn't mean there won't be problems. And vice versa, your accountant's advice might be perfectly sound when it comes to tax but it might screw up your residency. It's also well worth speaking to several experts, especially if your personal situation is complicated or you're trying to do something slightly out of the usual run of things. When it comes to tricky issues like remote work while on a visitor visa , different lawyers will tell you different things. It's tempting to go with the one who tells you what you want to hear, but it's a better idea in the long run to get several viewpoints on a situation. Even though you do have more recourse if you get bad advice from a lawyer or accountant , it's ultimately you who will have to deal with any ensuing problems with French admin. If you find yourself in breach of the rules, saying 'my lawyer said it would be OK' is unfortunately no defence at all. Remember also that getting your French visa is only the first step - ask questions about what happens next; will you be able to renew it or obtain your carte de séjour easily? Will you be able to get long-term residency one day? What will your plans mean for your tax status? Will your chosen path make it difficult for you to get French citizenship one day? The French residency card and tax systems are designed to be used by individuals; beware of anyone suggesting that you will need a lawyer or accountant for every renewal/annual tax declaration - they're either just trawling for business or they're setting up a residency or tax status so complicated that you'll be forced to pay for professional advice for every dealing with French admin. And above all, remember the old saying - "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". If there truly were a quick and easy shortcut to long-term French residency with no taxes, then everyone would be using it - we're not handing over a third of our monthly income and spending hours in a queue at the préfecture because we find this a fun hobby. It's because we have learned the greater truths - French admin always wins; there are no loopholes; liberté, égalité, bureaucratié . You can find more information on all things residency and tax related in our Moving to France section. Feel free to share your experiences in the comments section below


Euronews
2 hours ago
- Euronews
Graz holds Mass for victims of Austria's deadliest shooting since WWII
Several hundred people attended a Mass in Graz for the 10 victims of Austria's deadliest shooting in its post-war history on Tuesday evening. Ten people, including students, were killed and others injured on Tuesday after a gunman opened fire at a school in Austria's second-biggest city before killing himself, according to authorities. There was no immediate information on the motive of the 21-year-old former student of the school, who had no previous police records. Austria's Press Agency said the authorities seized a suicide note reportedly belonging to the attacker, which provided no clues as to why he carried out the attack. He owned two weapons which he used to carry out the assault, both of which he legally owned. Austria's Chancellor Christian Stocker, Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler and Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger attended the Mass for the victims at Graz Cathedral. 'Today is a dark day in the history of our country,' Stocker told reporters in the city of about 300,000 people in southern Austria and the capital of Styria. The day was 'a national tragedy that shocks us deeply', he said as he declared three days of national mourning, with the Austrian flag lowered to half-mast at official buildings. A national minute of silence is to be held on Wednesday morning in memory of the victims. Resident Elisabeth Schuster, who came to the Mass to show solidarity with the victims of the tragedy, said the incident "shocked me a lot like everybody else." "I'm with them, feel for them. And I hope that together we can find a way, so that something like this never happens again," she added. In Graz's main square people also gathered for a candle-lit vigil to mourn the victims of the fatal attack. Cobra special forces were among those sent as part of the first response team to the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school, about a kilometre from Graz's historic centre, after calls at 10 am local time reporting shots at the building. More than 300 police officers were also deployed to the scene, who helped evacuate students from the school. Footage from the scene showed students filing out quickly past armed officers. Police said security was restored in 17 minutes. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said the gunman had been a student at the school who had failed to complete his studies. Austria has some of the more liberal gun laws in the EU.