US EditionEU Commission Paid Environmental NGOs to Target Germany, Report Says
- The EU Commission contracted ClientEarth in 2022 to pay €350,000 for targeted activism against coal-fired power plants in Germany during the energy crisis.
- This contract was part of wider EU funding to NGOs, including a €700,000 deal with Friends of the Earth to lobby against the Mercosur trade agreement that began in 2022.
- Between 2022 and 2023, the EU allocated more than €15 million of public money to support activist and lobbying efforts connected to the Green Deal, a strategy aimed at achieving climate neutrality across Europe by 2050.
- On June 7, 2025, reports surfaced alleging secret contracts and covert lobbying efforts; however, EU officials and organizations such as HEAL have rejected claims of any misuse or direct influence by the European Commission over NGO agendas.
- These revelations highlight tensions over the EU Commission's role in policymaking, raising concerns about transparency and the influence of well-funded organizations on EU environmental policies.
27 Articles
27 Articles
The EU seems to have paid environmental organisations to sue German companies and to conduct campaigns.
In Brussels, according to a media report, the Commission is supposed to have paid associations for lawsuits and campaigns against companies. Thus, the public should be convinced of climate policy.
According to a media report, the EU Commission paid environmental associations for lawsuits and campaigns against companies, including German ones. The aim of the secret agreements was to convince the public of the EU's climate policy.
In Brussels, the Commission is said to have paid various associations to launch complaints and campaigns according to their ideas, and several politicians are indignant.
Claims against coal-fired power plants and campaigns against free trade: According to secret documents, the EU Commission paid environmental organisations for questionable lobbying – also with money from German taxpayers. German companies also became the goal of NGOs.
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