MCC Brussels suspended from EU's Transparency Register over financial disclosure issues
Key facts
- •MCC Brussels suspended from EU's Transparency Register
- •Alleged failure to disclose financial information and funding sources
- •Think tank received over €6 million in 2024, mostly from Mathias Corvinus Collegium
- •MCC Brussels plans to challenge the decision through appeal mechanisms
- •The suspension may limit the think tank's access to EU institutions and expert groups
- •The Corporate Europe Observatory lodged the complaint against MCC Brussels
The EU's transparency watchdog has suspended MCC Brussels, a right-wing think tank with links to former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, from its database of lobbyists and campaign groups. The suspension is due to the think tank's alleged failure to disclose financial information, including its funding sources.
By the numbers
Background and Allegations
The Corporate Europe Observatory lodged a complaint against MCC Brussels, accusing it of failing to disclose its funding sources and spreading Orbán regime propaganda. MCC Brussels received over €6 million in 2024, mostly from the Budapest-based Mathias Corvinus Collegium educational institution controlled by Orbán's allies.
Reaction and Appeal
MCC Brussels' founder and executive director, Frank Furedi, stated that the think tank has faced attempts to marginalize and silence its work. The group's communication director, John O'Brien, branded the decision as 'political from the beginning' and claimed the complaint came from an activist organization opposed to MCC Brussels' ideas. MCC Brussels plans to challenge the decision through all available appeal mechanisms.
This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by Politico Europe.
