Transparency and public participation in EU funds decision making

The Cohesion Policy's partnership principle prescribes the inclusion of local authorities and civil society in the delivery of EU funds. This, as research has shown, improves project quality, curbs potential corruption cases and brings tangible social and environmental benefits to communities.

In many member states however, public participation is reduced to a formal process (for instance limited to the so-called Monitoring Committees). Independent experts and affected communities have often very limited access to information and can not voice their opinions effectively.

To strengthen transparency and participation, the EU and its national managing authorities need to provide for:

• Full involvement of stakeholders into all stages of the Cohesion Policy cycle – program planning, project development, monitoring and evaluation – at European, national and regional level;
• Minimum standards for access to information and full disclosure of costs and impacts of programmes, projects and subsidies;
• Capacity building and technical assistance for independent civil society organisations, specifically in the context of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA), which offers assistance to countries engaged in the process of accession to the EU.