Philea provides input to MEPs on formation of new European Commission
Following Ursula von der Leyen’s selection of candidate Commissioners for each Member State, Philea has analysed the entry-points for philanthropy in each of their mission letters and is now engaging with Members of the European Parliament to bring forward our European Philanthropy Manifesto recommendations into the upcoming hearings.
The first set of questions and answers that were exchanged in the context of the hearings have been published, along with the timeline for the confirmation hearings of the Commissioners-designate.
We are pleased to see that, thanks to our efforts in collaboration with wider civil society and social economy sector, incoming Commissioner Michael McGrath, responsible for Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law, will work towards a stronger protection of civil society, and a more structured dialogue with civil society organisations. Commissioner McGrath commits to “… intensify the Commission’s work to enable a thriving civic space in Europe, including through targeted funding to support and protect civil society actors.”
Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné furthermore commits to strengthening social economy in the context of public procurement by for instance “… further promote the use of guidance, support for capacity building and tailored training sessions to both public buyers and social economy entities in EU Member States.”
In addition, we identified entry-points for public-private-philanthropy partnerships and blending approaches in other Commissioners’ portfolios, notably in the questions addressed to Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné and Commissioner Piotr Serafin. Séjourné stipulates in his answer to the European Parliament that “If I am confirmed, together with the Commissioner for Financial Services and Savings and Investments Union and other Members of the College, we will be looking into ways of attracting more institutional investors; better leveraging public financing instruments, raising awareness, and facilitating the exchange of best practices, reviewing the tax and legal frameworks to remove existing barriers and build on successful national schemes.” In his own replies, Serafin notes that “The EU budget can further contribute to leverage and de-risk private capital, with the support of promotional banks, in primis the European Investment Bank Group.”
Philea continues to engage around the questions for a targeted group of candidate Commissioners, to promote our recommendations for an enabling environment for philanthropy, and the wider civil society and social economy sector.
Furthermore, Philea is developing briefing papers translating our recommendations into the priorities of the Commissioners-designate.
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