The following letter appeared in the Jerusalem Post of January 19. Please share with anyone gullible enough to believe that NGO Monitor has even the slightest shred of credibility.
Sir, – Gerald Steinberg, in “Europe needs a parliamentary inquiry on NGO funding” (Comment & Features, January 10), claimed that the European Union “blatantly violates the basic rules of funding transparency” and talked of “an impenetrable shroud of secrecy” obscuring its funding procedures.
In fact, as Prof. Steinberg is fully aware from the various conversations we have had with him, funding of projects by the European Union worldwide is carried out by open and public calls for proposals published on EU websites, including the website of the Delegation of the European Union to the State of Israel. This is the link to where they are published: http://ec.europa.eu/delegations/ israel/funding_opportunities/ grants/index_en.htm.
The guidelines for project applicants clearly state the aims and objectives of the programs and are open for all to see. After a proposal has been selected it is included in the list of accepted projects, and remains on line throughout the entire length of the project. Here you will find the precise size of the grant, the name of the implementing organization, the duration of the project and a description of the project.
Moreover, all recipients of EU funding are contractually obligated to make publicly known the source of this funding.
A list of projects currently being funded by the European Union in Israel can be found via the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/delegations/ israel/projects/list_of_p rojects/projects_en.htm.
This list does not include the hundreds of projects funded in the field of scientific research, which are published separately.
Respect for and promotion of human rights are fundamental values shared by Israel and the European Union. This is enshrined in the Israel-EU Association Agreement that forms the basis of our relations.
AMB. ANDREW STANDLEY
Tel Aviv
The writer heads the Delegation of the European Union to the State of Israel
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at least one eu-funded project, rabbis for human rights, has very little transparency. you can only find annual reports on the internet going back several years for the u.s. group. the uk division has no info, and the israeli site also has very little info. don’t know if you mean transparency in the eu or in donor books, but in this case, eu may be transparent, but the recipient is not.