EU transparency watchdog suspends Orbán-backed MCC Brussels

The EU's Transparency Register has suspended MCC Brussels, a right-wing think tank associated with former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, over alleged failures to disclose its financial information and funding sources. The watchdog's decision, communicated via email and seen by POLITICO, could prevent the group from participating in certain EU institutional meetings and expert groups.

The suspension follows a complaint filed by Corporate Europe Observatory, which accused MCC Brussels of not disclosing its funding and of spreading "Orbán regime propaganda." Launched in 2022, MCC Brussels reported receiving over €6 million in 2024 to influence European policymakers, with nearly all of this funding originating from the Mathias Corvinus Collegium, an educational institution in Budapest controlled by close political allies of Orbán.

Frank Furedi, founder and executive director of MCC Brussels, stated that the group has faced "relentless attempts to marginalise, isolate and silence our work" because it challenges prevailing orthodoxies. MCC Brussels has been critical of EU climate change policy and hosted an event in the European Parliament titled "The Trans Ideology Threat." Communication director John O’Brien described the decision as politically motivated, originating from an activist group that opposes MCC Brussels' ideas and has received support from networks linked to George Soros's Open Society Foundations.

The Transparency Register lists over 17,500 organizations that lobby or campaign on EU policy, requiring them to submit regular financial disclosures and adhere to a code of conduct. MCC Brussels has announced its intention to challenge the decision through available appeal mechanisms.