Hidden driving force in EU jungle

Date: 13/02/1997

ASK anyone who calls the shots in Europe, and a number of institutions will come up time and time again.

The European Commission, national governments and the European Parliament are the most obvious. Dig deeper (although not far) and you will find private or public industry, employees' unions, local government officials and countless other players.

But one type of pressure group, at least as crucial as the rest, is often forgotten.

Europe's non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which range from individual campaigns to Oxfam-sized megaliths, are - to an increasing degree - becoming a driving force behind the EU's work. Playing a dual role, NGOs both influence policy before it is made and then, in many cases, implement it once it has been established.

But who exactly are these bodies and who do they represent?

Although almost impossible to define with a blanket generalisation, NGOs are, in essence, non profit-making organisations which pursue no self-interested agenda. They represent both their members' and, according to their advocates, the concerns of society at large.

NGOs should be distinguished from industrial lobby groups and professional lobby organisations. Popularly known as charities, ideally they are independent, with only a proportion of their funds provided by government, and follow a broadly 'socially responsible' agenda.

But the term 'charity', with its overtones of coffee mornings and octogenarian organisers, no longer seems to fit the bill.

Today's NGO is a serious proposition. The largest resemble multinational companies, with press offices, national representations, policy units and all the trimmings that go with late-20th-century administration.

Even the smallest are learning that attracting funds - an essential element of NGO work - can no longer be left down to the village fête.

These organisations also cover a huge range of interests: social policy, development, environmental issues, consumer concerns and civil liberties, to name but a few.

The staff of modern NGOs write press releases, lobby politicians, lean on officials, extract cash from anywhere it is available, and finally - but very importantly - put that money to work in very practical ways.

In this, they are gaining increasing support from European politicians desperate to earn approval from society at large.

A spokeswoman for Pádraig Flynn, the European Commissioner for social affairs, explains: “There is a feeling that we should continue to increase the voice of civil society in social policy. Last year, for example, we set up a social policy forum which acted as a kind of structured dialogue with interest groups. There are plans to follow up on that.”

And as NGOs begin to move closer to the heart of Union policy, so they are becoming more professional. Although many of the thousands of European NGOs are still relatively disorganised, Commission officials say they are quickly learning the ropes.

“Many groups are becoming increasingly adept at learning how to cope with the administrative jungle,” says one official who reviews funding applications.

Not only are individual organisations sharpening up their act, but the offices in Brussels which champion their collective demands are doing the same. A prime example of this is the EU-NGO Liaison Committee, which is a crucial focus point for its 800-plus members.

Alongside national campaigns, the committee has played an active role in recent moves to revise the EU's development policy, creating a kind of two-tier approach to European policy-making.

“This kind of approach works. Differences at a national level often disappear at a European level. By speaking with a common voice we receive a lot of attention from the Commission,” says committee spokesman Sam Biesemans.

While links between NGOs are not always so formal, a growing number of them are learning how to cooperate, spread their efforts and support each other.

These developments are not surprising. After all, wresting money from a recession-wary public and belt-tightening governments is an uphill struggle. But it also reflects the growing complexity of the role which NGOs have to play.

There used to be a sense that these organisations existed merely to carry out projects where help was needed. This is reflected in EU funding policy, which still maintains a very project-oriented approach to giving out grants. (Over 400 million ecu went directly to NGOs for 1997, not including emergency humanitarian financing.)

But just as important to their aims is the gradual spread of information, convincing politicians to take up their cause and general awareness-raising.

A well-placed public figure can be crucial to attracting EU-level attention - the role played by British Socialist MEP Glenys Kinnock in highlighting Burmese abuses of human rights is a classic example of how NGOs can put an issue on the European agenda.

As far as Kinnock is concerned, these organisations have a lot to offer. “Over the last two and a half years, I have placed an increasing reliance on the support, campaigning and lobbying work of NGOs,” she says.

“They look at reports, suggest amendments and, if they are appropriate, we respond. The most valuable budget line we have is that which supports them in the work they do.”

Winning funding for these activities is something of an art and NGOs are become increasingly adept at navigating the back-roads of European financing. They find themselves semi-permanent places in budget lines, sweeten responsible officials and even use the Commission's lack of internal coordination to obtain funds from different sources.

On the other hand, any manipulation works both ways.

Brussels insiders point to a growing tendency for the Commission to look to NGOs as an effective implementing arm of Union policy, bringing with them their expertise and publicity in often quite arcane areas.

Once a particular task is complete, it is goodbye NGO, with no severance pay and no commitments to uphold.

Given the growing tendency for western European administrations to find short-term contractors to do their groundwork, NGOs may become an increasingly important element in the way public policy is formulated and implemented.

Any moves towards greater NGO involvement should be welcomed, according to Biesemans.

“NGOs represent a lot of citizens. The number of links they offer to civil society is enormous. Apart from those who are directly involved, there are those who contribute to NGOs, those who receive their newsletters and those who simply listen to what they have to say,” he says.

“NGOs are local opinion leaders; catalysts for new ideas. If decision-makers want to construct an EU based on wide popular support, they cannot ignore this part of society.”

On the other hand, it is important to realise that, although in strict terms independent, non-governmental organisations are certainly not always non-partisan.

Many are linked to political parties, major religions and a variety of different ideologies. The activities of some of these groups teeter on the edge of outright political lobbying and as they become more effective at influencing decision-makers, this could be of concern.

That is why drawing a line between 'genuine' NGOs and other groups could become so important. Yet the Directory of Interest Groups recently distributed to Commission officials - to encourage them to consult non-profitmaking organisations more often when formulating policy - makes no distinction of substance between NGOs and industrial lobbies.

“The Commission has always been an institution open to outside input ...[and] believes this process to be fundamental to the development of its policies,” wrote Secretary-General David Williamson in his preface.

“The Commission is more than ever aware of the vital contribution that interest groups make to its work, and it wishes ... to guarantee that all interest groups receive equal treatment.”

But that might prove difficult to ensure in practice, however good the Commission's intentions.