EU funding to the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC)
25.1.2022
Question for written answer E-000307/2022
to the Commission
Rule 138
Lukas Mandl (PPE), Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou (PPE), Sara Skyttedal (PPE), Petras Auštrevičius (Renew), Andrey Kovatchev (PPE), David Lega (PPE), Tomas Tobé (PPE), Bert-Jan Ruissen (ECR), Miriam Lexmann (PPE)
On 5 January 2022, the Netherlands announced that it would cancel its contract with the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) after an independent investigation confirmed that the NGO has ties to the EU-designated terror organisation Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)[1]. According to NGO-Monitor, the EU provided EUR 18.3 million to projects involving UAWC between 2011 and 2017[2]. During a meeting of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs of 19 May 2020, Commissioner Várhelyi announced an internal review into allegations that some EU funds go to terror-linked or terror-supporting NGOs. However, the results have not yet been published. In light of the above, we would like to ask the following:
- 1.Is the EU still funding directly or indirectly UAWC or any of the other five Palestinian NGOs that Israel designated as terror groups in November 2021?
- 2.When will the Commission release the findings of the internal review into EU funding to PFLP-linked NGOs?
- 3.How will the Commission ensure that EU funding is not misused for terrorist purposes in the future?