More on the “N” in NGO

According to the Agenda Europe web site, the gay rights network ILGA Europe receives most of its funding from the European Commission.

To receive the funding, ILGA has to coordinate its planning with the commission, which means that “this self-described “non-governmental” organization actually appears to be something like an outsourced Commission service.” ILGA is legally more like a “body governed by public law,” with a suitably cozy relationship to the Commission. But it’s not accountable to the public because it is treated as an NGO. 

In the author’s opinion, ILGA’s work is “outsourced probably in order to create a false imagery of ‘civil society’ and to conceal the Commission’s direct influence over the organization.” Sounds cynical, but it’s a system that lends itself to cynicism. 

(Thanks to Paul Colman for pointing me to this article.)