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EU Court Throws Out NGO Funding Case Brought by Israel-Based Group
(JTA) Marcy Oster - The European Court of Justice threw out a lawsuit filed in January 2010 by the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor that would have required the EU to release details of its funding of NGOs. The lawsuit charged that the European Commission had failed to fulfill EU transparency obligations after the group had tried for 13 months to secure documents detailing nongovernmental agency funding by the EC. The EC cited "public security," "privacy" and "commercial interests" in denying the request. NGO Monitor researchers identified $48 million provided by the EC from 2005 until 2010 to NGOs active in Israel and the PA. Many of these are active in efforts that seek to isolate Israel by legal means and through boycott campaigns. Gerald Steinberg, president of NGO Monitor, said Monday: "For over a decade, the EU has acted with impunity in funding political advocacy NGOs with near total secrecy." "In addition to violating basic principles of transparency in government, this secret funding for Israeli NGOs grossly infringes on and seeks to manipulate the Israeli democratic process."