EU financing of EFI – glorification by EFI board members of the atrocities of 7 October 2023

Question for written answer E-002022/2024
to the Commission
Rule 144
Niclas Herbst (PPE)

I would like to highlight disturbing statements made by board members of the EuroMed Feminist Initiative (EFI), an umbrella organisation funded by the EU, following the Hamas-orchestrated massacre of 7 October 2023.

According to a July 2024 article published by Le Point[1] (based on research from NGO Monitor[2]), EFI board members and member organisations published statements justifying and celebrating the attack of 7 October 2023, denying Hamas atrocities and promoting antisemitic imagery.

One EFI member organisation is the official 'women's framework' of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP). The DFLP is designated by Israel as a terrorist organisation, and participated, alongside Hamas and other Palestinian groups, in the atrocities of 7 October 2023.

According to the EU Financial Transparency System, the EU has provided EUR 10.6 million to the EFI (2015-2026).

• 1.In light of these disturbing findings, can the Commission review the reported allegations and respond vigorously to them?
• 2.What contractual clauses exist in EU-funded programmes to prevent the denial of Israel's right to exist, the incitement and glorification of terror, and the provision of funding to terror-linked persons and groups?

Submitted: 11.10.2024

• [1] https://www.lepoint.fr/monde/des-feministes-pro-hamas-subventionnees-par-les-europeens-17-07-2024-2565808_24.php.
• [2] https://www.ngo-monitor.org/reports/euromed-feminist-initiatives-board-members-celebrate-october-7-hamas-massacre/.