Resolution Against EU Funding of NGOs Exposed
The Resolution Against EU Funding of NGOs was considered by ALEC's International Relations Task Force at the 2011 Annual Meeting on August 4, 2011. This bill was part of the ALEC task force agenda between 2010 and 2012, but due to incomplete information, it is not known if the bill passed in a vote by legislators and lobbyists at ALEC task force meetings, if ALEC sought to distance itself from the bill as the public increased scrutiny of its pay-to-play activities, or if key operative language from the bill has been introduced by an ALEC legislator in a state legislature in the ensuing period or became binding law.
ALEC Draft Bill Text
WHEREAS, The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) promotes the Jeffersonian principles essential to good government, in particular peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none; and
WHEREAS, ALEC affirms the long standing cooperation between the European Union, Member States and third countries; and
WHEREAS, recent reports demonstrate a long-term effort on the part of the European Union and Member States to affect domestic political debates, particularly related to democracy, human rights, sustainability and the environment in countries as disparate as the Solomon Islands and the United States; and
WHEREAS, ALEC has long maintained that cooperation, mutual recognition of self-interest, and the need to respect the sovereignty of domestic debates, especially those with no direct, material impact on EU interests; and
WHEREAS, a recent study by the US-based Heritage Foundation found that between 2007 and 2009, the EU spent € 861.34 million in the US, a large portion of which was allocated to advocating causes supported by the EU and to increasing EU influence in American affairs; and
WHEREAS, a study by the UK-based Taxpayers Alliance found that the EU and the UK Government provided funding in 2009-10 of more than €11 million to environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) engaged in advocacy work and campaigns throughout the world, advocating policies to the detriment of developing world communities; and
WHEREAS, these same organizations are often cited as experts in the EU despite engaging in hyperbole and misrepresenting industry actions and projections of emissions and the state of the environment, and refusing to correct these misrepresentations; and
WHEREAS, ALEC recognizes that climate change is a historical phenomenon and the debate will continue on the significance and implications of natural and anthropogenic contributions; and
WHEREAS, ALEC recognizes that engaging in promotion of democratic principles within the US is a misuse of valuable EU resources and without justification;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the European Union shall not engage in political advocacy apart from government-to-government representation and communication on issues isolated in domestic affairs and with a disproportionate impact on the welfare of local communities; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the EU shall censure any EU-funded organization that unfairly maligns a sovereign state without sufficient, independent evidence of their claims; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the EU shall ensure that policies promoted by non-governmental partners and EU development and trade policies respect the needs and desires of third country recipients of assistance, while prioritizing poverty alleviation and food security over ephemeral environmental concerns; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be forwarded to the President of the United States, select Members of the United States Congress, the United States Agency for International Development, the Secretary of State for the United States, Members of the European Parliament, the European Commission’s Directorate General for the Environment and Directorate General for Development, Members of Parliament of the United Kingdom, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development.
