Politically engaged NGOs in Hungary have received a minimum of €62.4 million in direct EU funding since 2014, according to government spokesman Zoltán Kovács. However, Kovács said, this figure represents only the portion that can be verified through EU’s own funding portals:
The databases … are riddled with inconsistencies and data gaps. While Brussels bureaucrats frequently cite these platforms to demonstrate transparency, in reality, the figures don’t match …These databases offer no visibility into financial flows between entities, meaning it’s impossible to know whether funding from one NGO is quietly funneled to another.
Kovács draws a parallel between USAID and EU’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values program (CERV). According to him, “fragmented oversight, ideological clustering of grantees, and the absence of national control” can be found in both systems—in order to promote specific ideologies and political messages without transparency.
“Even as it demands accountability from member states, the European Commission refuses to apply the same standards to itself,” Kovács said, adding that the bloc’s own funding system is “incomplete, inconsistent and unverifiable”.
Following the numerous scandals in the recent months, EU’s Patriots for Europe already called for a Committee to fight corruption within the EU institutions Commission while the Commission continues to fund politically active NGOs from the shadows, which would make it “Europe’s USAID” according to Kovács.
Brussels’ black box: €62 million in EU funding to politically active NGOs in Hungary
When it comes to transparency, the @EU_Commission preaches far more than it practices. A newly released analysis has revealed that since 2014, politically active NGOs operating in… pic.twitter.com/vdf7WjVrgB
— Zoltan Kovacs (@zoltanspox) April 2, 2025
