THE European Parliament has endorsed the choice of York as the headquarters of a centre which champions the cause of not-for-profit organisations throughout the Continent.

It has formally earmarked 50,000 euros (nearly £32,600) to CENPO, the Centre for European Not-for-Profit Organisations in Lendal.

CENPO's director David Wedgwood moved from Brussels to York in April to set up the network secretariat, and to continue to direct the Brussels service centre from here.

He said: "A year ago the European Parliament wrote us into the EU budget in the same way as when we were still Brussels based. We used part of the money to set up our network secretariat in York.

"To be voted the money again for next year amounts to a tacit endorsement by the parliament of our choice of York as a European headquarters."

CENPO provides a service centre in Brussels to help smaller and medium sized grassroots organisations from all over Europe gain the same access to the EU institutions as the very large organisations that can afford to have their own offices in the "Euro-capital".

Since 1994 it has helped more than 50 grassroots organisations with creation or development of European networks, dialogue with EU institutions, input into EU policy, lobbying on EU issues and participation in EU funding programmes.

Earlier this year the direction of the Brussels service centre was handed over to a network of partners, who also provide contact points in all European countries so that organisations who want to be active at a European level can make contact with CENPO in their own country and in their own language.

York was chosen as the base of this network and therefore of the headquarters of CENPO.

Mr Wedgwood has now been joined by Portuguese lawyer Sara Gomes and by the first local recruit, Anna Scholtz from Poppleton.

Sara will handle the development of the network and research input into the Brussels service centre. In a further endorsement of York, her work in Lendal is being part funded by the European Commission under the EU's Leonardo Da Vinci programme. Anna will handle the contact with UK non-profit organisations and will also build up a model that the other network partners can use in outreach to organisations in their own countries who could benefit from working at a European level.

Mr Wedgwood sad: "Since we first planned the move of our European headquarters to York, we have been helped enormously by two local MEPs, David Bowe and Timothy Kirkhope. That help has continued in the new vote last week and we are very grateful."

Updated: 09:59 Tuesday, October 29, 2002