About
About the European Democracy Consulting Stiftung
European Democracy Consulting is a consulting firm based in Austria, specialising in the provision of legal and political expertise on institutional and constitutional matters.
The European Democracy Consulting Stiftung is a non-profit association advancing the study of European institutions and democracy.
Our history
European Democracy Consulting was created in 2019, out of the desire to improve our common European democracy. The 2019 European elections showed a renewed interest for the Union, but also the limit of citizens’ engagement. Following these elections, European Democracy Consulting was set up to help decision-makers, public institutions, and NGOs in their promotion of a more democratic, transparent and efficient European Union. Its goal is the strengthening of European democracy through reform and the application of best-practice measures.
In July 2023, European Democracy Consulting set up the European Democracy Consulting Stiftung, a non-profit association, to manage its pro bono projects and separate them from consulting activities, starting with the European Party Funding Observatory. The purpose of the association is to advance the science and research related to European institutions and democracy. Consequently, the European Party Funding Observatory, which had been launched by European Democracy Consulting in 2022, was donated to the European Democracy Consulting Stiftung, now in charge of its development and growth.
Our vision
Democracy does not always come easy; there may be vested interests opposing its development. As a result, sixty years after its creation, the European Union still falls far short of the democratic standards of developed countries.
We bring our solid expertise to support a value-based discussion and propose concrete political and legal solutions, based on best-practices, that will strengthen our common democracy for the general interest of all Europeans.
Our work
European Democracy Consulting and the European Democracy Consulting Stiftung are independent of specific national, political, or corporate interests. Our work represents our best efforts at providing accurate data, relevant best practices, and actionable recommendations based on our research and in line with our support for European democracy.
Since 2019, European Democracy Consulting has conducted paid and pro bono research on the reform of European parties and of their funding, on the transparency of European parties’ donations and contributions, on the visibility of national parties’ link to their European party of membership, on the reform of European elections and transnational lists, and on geographical representation in the EU’s leadership.
About the European Party Funding Observatory
The European Party Funding Observatory is the flagship project of the European Democracy Consulting Stiftung.
The Project
The goal of the European Party Funding Observatory is to advance the study of European parties by making data transparent and accessible to all.
The European Party Funding Observatory aims at ensuring that information on European political parties is not merely published, but truly visible. We access or request data from official sources, transcribe it into open, machine-readable format, and turn it into clear visualisations aimed at answering citizens’ questions. In addition, we are providing this information in a structured format via our wikibase.
Credits: data.europa.eu
Focus
The European Party Funding Observatory provides information on:
- Public funding: how much public funding do European parties receive? How much public funding are they entitled to? How much does each party actually receive? How does public funding evolve over time? How much does this cost European citizens?
- Private funding, including donations and contributions: how much private funding do European parties receive? Which parties rely more on donor contributions? How does private funding evolve over time? Who gives to European parties? What is the role of small or corporate donations? Where do donors and contributors come from?
- Spending: how much do European parties spend? What do they spend their funding on? How does spending evolve over time?
In addition, the European Party Funding Observatory provides party-specific information, allowing the visualisation of the above information for each European political party, including some information concerning their individual and party membership.
While citizens know little about European parties in general, the European Democracy Consulting Stiftung chose to focus on European party funding data, as this is the least visible and accessible information regarding European parties. European citizens indirectly fund – through national and European funding – almost the entirety of European parties’ budget; they should be able to easily know how this money is distributed and spent.
Contact
For more on the Observatory, visit epfo.eu or send an e-mail at contact [at] epfo.eu.