German progressives have been outraged by a requested inquiry into the political neutrality of State-funded organisations, with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) threatening to derail coalition talks over the issue.
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has demanded more clarity in the Bundestag over the financing of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) after a number of its members called for demonstrations against the Right.
The CDU inquiry request, submitted on February 21, comprised 551 questions targeting various NGOs, including prominent groups such as Omas gegen Rechts, Greenpeace and Correctiv.
The government had been using taxpayers’ money to fund organisations behind a wave of mass protests against the CDU/Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) and Alternative for Germany (AfD), press has reported.
These protests were designed to counter the CDU’s acceptance of support in parliament for a vote on migration. The Left accused the CDU of tearing down the so-called “firewall”, the principle of not co-operating with the AfD.
Organisations leading those protests received substantial financial support from various federal ministries, it was alleged, and the CDU said it wanted to learn more about what it called possible political interference.
On February 26 in response to the inquiry request, the SPD and Greens accused the CDU/CSU of attempting to undermine civil society.
Lars Klingbeil, the newly elected SPD parliamentary group leader, has sharply criticised the CDU inquiry, labelling it “foul play”.
Klingbeil argued that the investigation would pillory organisations that protected democracy and warned that it could jeopardise the upcoming coalition talks between the CDU/CSU and the SPD.
“I can’t imagine a situation where we sit together in working groups in the morning and discuss investments in the Bundeswehr, the railways, or infrastructure and, in the afternoon, I see that the Union sends out exactly such requests,” Klingbeil stated.
He described the request for an inquiry as “foul play”, adding: “That is why the Union must now clarify for itself how seriously it wants to enter into talks with the Social Democrats.”
The European Green Party has also expressed its support for the targeted NGOs, condemning the CDU inquiry as an aggressive campaign against civil society and independent journalism.
Vula Tsetsi, co-chair of the European Greens, claimed the CDU’s motion followed a pattern of attempts to intimidate, discredit and defund NGOs at the European level.
“Civil society is fighting for the survival of our climate and our democracy. In these turbulent times, their voices are needed more than ever,” Tsetsi said.
Ciarán Cuffe, another co-chair of the European Greens, echoed those sentiments, saying that singling out NGOs was unjustified and deeply worrying.
“Civil society must be able to work independently, without political interference,” he said.
If it is confirmed that the NGO’s supported the protests, it would be a violation of German non-profit legislation, which bars them from engaging in partisan activities as part of maintaining their tax-exempt status or so-called public benefit recognition.
Germany’s left-green government has reportedly been using taxpayers’ money to fund the organisations behind a wave of mass protests against the Christian Democratic Union and Alternative for Germany. https://t.co/nRRUDAuo09
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 11, 2025
On February 28, national news broadcaster ZDF reported that on February 14, the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs demanded that various organisations pay attention to political neutrality.
“Due to current events, we would like to remind you that the logo of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth as well as the logo of the federal programme, may not be printed on calls for demonstrations,” a letter from the federal office to around 560 recipients of State funds stated.
“Grants that have been approved for a specific measure may not be used beyond this purpose,” it warned.
NGO Omas gegen Rechts has stated that it received no funds apart from donations and membership fees, emphasising that all its work was undertaken on a voluntary basis.
News outlet NIUS had earlier reported the NGO had received €18,000 from a ministry’s Demokratie Leben! (Live Democracy!) programme. Additionally, it claimed, the group received €5,000 from the Federal Chancellery, totalling €23,294.22 in public funds
Despite the criticism, the CDU has defended its call for an inquiry.
Mathias Middelberg, the deputy leader of the party’s parliamentary group, said the investigation would aim to ensure that publicly funded commitments were not used for partisan purposes. He insisted that the examination of the lawful use of tax funds was a core task of parliament.
“Civil society engagement is indispensable and worthy of support,” Middelberg said. “However, publicly funded commitment must not be used for party political purposes.”
CSU politician Dorothee Bär said she could not understand the uproar regarding about the request for an inquiry.
“It is a perfectly normal procedure when a parliamentary group in the German Bundestag asks the federal government how public money is used,” Bär told the Rheinische Post.
A similar debate has been taking place in Brussels, where centrists and the Right were scrutinising funding for NGO’s after it became known that the European Commission paid a shadow lobby to promote its own “green” policies.
It has been claimed that, via the LIFE programme, the body pumped millions into progressive NGOs for its lobbying activities.
The LIFE programme is the European Union’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action. Created in 1992, it has co-financed thousands of projects.
In December 2024, the EC informed environmental NGOs that money from the €5.4 billion LIFE programme could no longer be used for advocacy and lobbying work.
Despite that, some have called for a freeze of the LIFE programme while its activities were examined. That, though, would negatively impact many progressive NGO’s, which are financially dependent on European taxpayers’ money.
NGO’s claimed they would struggle without the money and, according to The Guardian earlier in February, they said attempts to deprive them of their funds were “a clear attempt to undermine democracy and stifle the voices of civil society”.
NGOs had much more contact with the European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen, compared with her predecessor Jean-Claude Juncker, new data shows. https://t.co/5wkEIjNHOB
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) January 16, 2025
