The review of organisations receiving funds from the federal “Demokrație leben” (Live Democracy) programme will be expanded, according to Education Minister Karin Prien (CDU) as reported by the “Wochentag”.
Currently, the organisations we support are independently checked against recognised standards ‑ this is already in place. In the future, all new partner organisations in the municipalities will also be examined. The domestic intelligence service (Verfassungsschutz) will only conduct investigations at our request and on a case‑by‑case basis when it is deemed useful. Such checks will be carried out if the reports of the federal and state intelligence agencies reveal relevant findings.
Prien rejected the claim of a blanket suspicion (“Generalverdacht”) against civil‑society groups. “That accusation has a sort of beard” she said, implying it is unfounded. She reiterates that only organisations that do not stand against the constitution may receive public money.
The “Democracy live” programme supports projects across Germany. For 2026 the federal government will allocate €191 million, a quarter of which goes directly to the states. “We do not review them, of course” Prien added.
