According to a Fidesz MEP, the system is similar to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) funding system.Continue reading
In the wake of a report on the huge extent of the EU-NGO propaganda complex, MCC Brussels is calling for the creation of an “EU DOGE.” In its report, the institute pointed to the way NGOs are funded in exchange for promoting EU values.
The document reveals the brazen waste of taxpayers’ money by the European Commission, channeling billions into an obscure network of NGOs and think-tanks, which it uses to reinforce its own policies and silence dissent. This vast EU-NGO propaganda complex undermines democracy and the institutions, and is tantamount to a scam on European citizens, says MCC Brussels.
In the light of current political developments, MCC Brussels calls for the creation of an EU Department of Government Efficiency (EU DOGE), modelled on the Trump administration’s measures, which would put an end to the misuse of EU funds and eradicate blatant propaganda funding.
Frank Füredi, Executive Director of MCC Brussels, said: “Given the scale of this EU-NGO propaganda complex, we need a body with the power and the motivation to expose the full range of this ideological corruption, and we call for the creation of an EU DOGE. We also know that this is just the tip of the iceberg, as the report only assesses funding through the CERV program and does not take into account the many other ways in which the EU allocates money to its pet causes. Only a radically new ministry with extensive powers would be able to reveal the scale of the issue.”
MCC Brussels calls for an EU DOGE
Following shocking new report about scale of the EU-NGO propaganda complex, MCC Brussels calls for establishment of EU DOGE.
Bombshell new report reveals how the European Commission funnels billions into a shadowy network of NGOs and… pic.twitter.com/XBjzspG6al
— MCC Brussels (@MCC_Brussels) February 17, 2025
The European Commission has earmarked more than €45 billion for ‘Resilience and Values’, of which €1.8 billion has been set aside specifically for ‘Rights and Values.’ The bulk of this, €1.5 billion, will go to the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) program. For 2025, €236 million has been earmarked for the CERV program.
The report argues that the EU has weaponized civil society organizations and turned them into tools of institutional propaganda.
The EU-NGO complex creates a self-reinforcing cycle in which the commission funds NGOs, which then lobby for more EU regulation and funding, often at the expense of wider democratic accountability. EU funding practices distort public debate and silence alternative perspectives, favoring supranational integration over national sovereignty and democratic pluralism, according to the document.
In addition, there is a significant lack of transparency in the allocation and monitoring of EU funds, raising concerns that public money is being used for political purposes rather than for genuine citizen needs.
It is often difficult to monitor the detailed allocation of funds, especially those that are subcontracted or sub-delegated, MCC Brussels pointed out.
Thomas Fazi, the author of the report, recalled: “The huge EU-NGO propaganda complex revealed in this report – a central pillar of what can rightly be called the European deep state – is a clear reminder that the greatest threat to European democracy today is not from outside but from within. Rather than upholding democratic values, the EU has systematically used its institutional power to manipulate public discourse, suppress dissent, and entrench its supranational agenda at the expense of national sovereignty and democratic accountability. The time has come for Europeans to confront the increasingly authoritarian transformation of the European Commission.”
By now everyone knows how US-based orgs like USAID fund NGOs to promote US interests abroad. But did you know the EU has its own USAID?
A on my latest bombshell report on The EU’s Propaganda Machine: How the EU Funds NGOs to Promote Itself:https://t.co/MGlDNz621l pic.twitter.com/6wyNgXYyDV
— Thomas Fazi (@battleforeurope) February 17, 2025
The report highlighted that through the CERV program, the EU has allocated significant funds to NGOs in countries such as Poland (€38 million) and Hungary (€41 million), aimed at promoting EU values and in some cases undermining the government.
For instance, the Hungarian Environmental Partnership Foundation (Ökotárs) in Hungary, has received €3.3 million in EU funding.
This foundation has been involved in several long-running disputes with the Orbán government, with the latter accusing the foundation of being the ‘local distribution center’ of a foreign-funded ‘political pressure network’ since 1994.
According to MCC Brussels’ report, the foundation has taken money not only from the European Commission, but also from American funders like the Ford, Rockefeller, and Open Society Foundations, as well as from the US embassy, and then distributing it to hundreds of Hungarian organizations to pursue a foreign-driven agenda.
Meanwhile, the Hungarian Environmental Partnership Foundation accuses the government of wanting to dismantle civil society in order to ‘achieve boundless power.’
As the document points out, in late 2023, the Hungarian government adopted a law that created a new authority with powers to investigate political activities carried out by NGOs or other organizations on behalf of, or funded by, a foreign interest. It said this was meant to protect the will of voters from undue foreign interference. The European Commission responded by starting an infringement procedure against Hungary.
“Whether one is more aligned with or sympathetic to the Hungarian government or to local NGOs like Ökotárs is irrelevant for the purpose of our argument. What matters is that a clear political dispute existed between the two parties. By financially supporting the foundation while simultaneously publicly criticizing the Orbán government, the Commission has been, ipso facto, interfering in Hungary’s domestic politics – with the broader, long-term objective of facilitating regime change in the country,” the report emphasized.
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