“The EU’s propaganda machine: funding NGOs to promote EU values”

From the MCC Brussels Press Release:

A bombshell report reveals the European Commission’s brazen misuse of taxpayer funds, funnelling billions into a shadowy network of NGOs and think tanks to promote its own political agenda and silence dissenting voices. This enormous EU-NGO propaganda complex undermines democracy and constitutes a massive betrayal of European citizens.

These findings come hot on the heels of both the scandal surrounding US government funding of worldwide propaganda NGOs via USAID, and also the recent scandal of the EU Commission funding green NGOs to lobby on behalf of the controversial Green Deal. In the wake of these revelations, MCC Brussels is calling for the establishment of the “EU Department of Governmental Efficiency (EU DOGE)” modelled after a similar initiative implemented by the Trump administration to root out the extraordinary misuse of funds and blatant funding of propaganda.

Frank Furedi, executive director of MCC Brussels, said: “The EU has amassed an extraordinary propaganda network of NGOs and compliant media, paid for by EU taxpayers, often working directly against the wishes of European citizens. Given the scale of this EU-NGO propaganda complex, we need a body with the power and drive to expose the full scale of this ideological corruption, which is why we are calling for an EU DOGE. We also know that this is merely the tip of the iceberg, as the report only assesses funding through the CERV programme and does not consider the multiple other ways in which the EU funnels money to its pet causes. Only a radical new department with extensive powers would be able to expose the scale of the issue.”

The report demonstrates that the concern with the funding of environmental NGOs is merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the EU’s creation of a vast propaganda network. The numerous examples in the report include:

•    €250 million to the pro-EU European news network Euronews over ten years
•    €270,000 to various NGOs and think tanks in Romania, Bulgaria and Italy – including the Romanian chapter of the US-based nonprofit Freedom House – for a project titled “Whos and hows: countering disinformation that pushes citizens away from the European project.”
•    €250 million to the pro-EU Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), a think tank that consistently argues for greater EU integration, over ten years
•    €15 million for the European Movement International (EMI), whose President is pro-EU fanatic Guy Verhofstadt, between 2021-2025

Key findings

Massive Funding for Self-Promotion
The European Commission has allocated over €45 billion to “Resilience and Values” with a staggering €1.8 billion specifically earmarked for “Rights and values”. The majority of this, €1.5 billion, goes to the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme. For 2025, €236 million was allocated to the CERV program.

NGOs as Propaganda Pawns
The Commission funnels substantial funding to NGOs and think tanks that are explicitly aligned with its vision of deeper European integration. These organizations, financially dependent on the EU, act as conduits for promoting the Commission’s agenda. The European Commission channels substantial funding to NGOs and think tanks to advocate for its policies, blurring the lines between independent civil society and institutional propaganda.

Interference in Domestic Politics
The Commission’s support for local NGOs in member states is used to undermine or attempt to delegitimize democratically elected administrations under the pretext of defending “EU values”. This constitutes foreign interference in the internal affairs of sovereign nations.

Weaponization of Civil Society
The report argues that the EU has weaponized civil society organizations, transforming them into instruments of institutional propaganda. The EU-NGO complex creates a self-reinforcing cycle where the Commission funds NGOs, which then lobby for more EU policies and funding, often at the expense of broader democratic accountability. The EU’s funding practices skew public debates and silence alternative perspectives, prioritizing supranational integration over national sovereignty and democratic pluralism.

Lack of Transparency
There are significant transparency gaps in the allocation and oversight of EU funds, raising concerns about the misuse of public money for political agendas rather than genuine civic needs. It is often difficult to track the detailed allocation of funds, especially those that are reallocated through sub-granting or sub-contracting.

Thomas Fazi, the report author said: “The massive EU-NGO propaganda complex exposed in this report — a central pillar of what can rightly be termed the European deep state — serves as a stark reminder that the greatest threat to democracy in Europe today comes not from external forces, but from within. Rather than upholding democratic values, the EU has systematically leveraged 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 stand up to the European Commission’s growing authoritarian drift”.