Patriots for Europe expose EU NGO funding, calling it "democracy distortion"

A Hungarian MEP has accused the European Commission of funnelling billions of euros to politically aligned non-governmental organisations, alleging that the practice distorts democracy and undermines national sovereignty.

Fidesz MEP Csaba Dömötör, representing the Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament, announced the launch of a public database containing details of more than 37,000 contracts—worth a combined €17 billion—between the European Commission and NGOs from 2019 to 2023, Caliber.Az reports, per Hungarian media.

The platform, ngotransparency.eu, enables users to see which groups in each country received EU funding during that period.

Dömötör claimed that most of the money went to politically active organisations with liberal agendas rather than grassroots civil society. Comparing the system to a “European-style USAID”, he described it as a “liberal cash distribution machine” lacking democratic legitimacy.

Citing documents from the European Commission and the European Court of Auditors, he argued that many of these groups are dependent on Brussels’ funding, often headquartered in the EU capital, and embedded in the EU’s institutional elite.

He alleged that they have campaigned against conservative governments, resisted border control measures, opposed agricultural subsidies, protested energy projects, and joined international efforts critical of Hungary’s rule-of-law record.

He pointed to the Mikepércsi Mothers for the Environment Association as an example, saying it had received significant EU funding and taken part in opposition campaign events alongside TISZA Party leader Péter Magyar.

Dömötör called for cuts to the funding network, warning that the new seven-year EU budget proposes even more resources for such groups—often, he said, at the expense of farmers and cohesion funds.

The Patriots for Europe alliance, which includes Fidesz and other right-leaning parties, plans to extend transparency efforts to post-2023 contracts, Brussels-funded media outlets, and EU-backed fact-checking bodies, they say, influence public debate.

He stressed that “genuine civil society” should have social roots and community support, rather than rely on funding from the EU, USAID or the Open Society Foundations while engaging in political advocacy without public mandates.

By Aghakazim Guliyev