European Tugowners Association

European Tugowners Association | ETA [Abbr.]

The eight stakeholder associations signing the platform agreement are: CIC – The International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation; COPA-COGECA – European Farmers and European Agri-cooperatives; ELO - European Landowners’ Organization; EUROPARC Federation; FACE – The European Federation of Associations for Hunting Conservation; Joint representative of Finnish and Swedish reindeer herders; IUCN – The International Union for Conservation of Nature, European Union Representative Office; and WWF – World Wide Fund for Nature, ...[+++] European Policy Office.

6. Takes the view that the Commission should impose the highest levels of integrity in the procurement processes for implementation of EU-funded projects, in particular by promoting greater accessibility to calls for tender for local organisations; stresses that a human rights-based approach to procurement benefits from the participation of a broader range of actors, namely those affected by the bidding process (such as associations of land-owners as well as disadvantaged groups); considers that a human rights-based approach to procurement also encourages authorities to empower disadvantaged groups to compete in procurement processes t ...[+++]hemselves and broaden the criteria against which companies are assessed in procurement processes; recalls that monitoring results of projects in cooperation with civil society and holding local authorities accountable is essential to determine whether EU funds are used appropriately; urges the Commission not to grant projects to contractors whose beneficial owners are not known, or who have a corporate structure that enables them to easily engage in transfer-pricing;

73. Reiterates the importance of programmes aimed at improving energy performance in order to increase the affordability of social housing and housing in the private sector; emphasises the need for the Commission to clarify the State aid guidelines with regard to national and EU funds for such renovations and investments, and to allow flexibility, wherever possible, to ensure that such investments by housing associations and private owners can benefit from the most appropriate funding streams in order to achieve this dual social and environmental objective, without breaching EU competition rules;

76. Reiterates the importance of programmes aimed at improving energy performance in order to increase the affordability of social housing and housing in the private sector; emphasises the need for the Commission to clarify the State aid guidelines with regard to national and EU funds for such renovations and investments, and to allow flexibility, wherever possible, to ensure that such investments by housing associations and private owners can benefit from the most appropriate funding streams in order to achieve this dual social and environmental objective, without breaching EU competition rules;