Environmentalists under spotlight

The European Parliament will in the autumn produce a report on the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as several MEPs have warned that environmental groups must be subject to tougher scrutiny.

Speaking at a meeting of the Parliament’s environment committee, UK centre-right MEP Caroline Jackson said that a monitoring process was needed to follow money paid to NGOs, in particular for conservation research. "There is an open door for money to be diverted elsewhere," she said, adding: "It is unacceptable that we allow this situation to continue."

Jackson said that she hoped to produce an own-initiative report on "the work of NGOs" this autumn.

Her comments followed a speech by Dutch centre-left MEP Dorette Corbey on a meeting last month of the international Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Several NGOs produced research on the state of endangered stocks for politicians preparing for CITES.

Corbey said that while research provided by NGOs was of a high standard and invaluable to MEPs, "we should not make ourselves slaves to what NGOs say".

Corbey volunteered herself as shadow rapporteur if Jackson took the lead for the report. Jackson stressed that she had no evidence that NGOs were abusing their position. But, she said, "we should not just take it on trust that groups like IFAW [International Fund for Animal Welfare] and WWF are always doing their best".

Günther Pauls of IFAW said that the MEPs’ comments were "totally inappropriate".

"Our financial management is very transparent - you can see in our annual reports how our money is spent," he added.

"I don’t understand this sort of criticism," said Pauls. "Our role is to provide information. We don’t want to brainwash people."

The European Parliament will in the autumn produce a report on the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as several MEPs have warned that environmental groups must be subject to tougher scrutiny.