Ahead of Hungary’s parliamentary elections in April 2026, the high-reach news outlets HVG and Telex received substantial financial support from the European Parliament (EP). While the Brussels institution stresses that the funded newsrooms enjoy full editorial independence, the timing of the grants so close to Hungary’s elections has sparked controversy.
Specifically, HVG secured funding for a project with a total value of €95,065, while Telex was awarded €149,618, reports Magyar Nemzet. Both media outlets were successful in the European Parliament’s 2025 call for proposals for communication activities. The corresponding list of beneficiaries was published on the EP’s official website. Under the funding criteria, the EP covers 60 percent of the total costs in both cases.
The funding program is administered by the European Parliament’s Directorate-General for Communication (DG COMM).
According to its official mandate, the multiannual work program is intended to strengthen the Parliament’s institutional visibility, promote democratic engagement and provide citizens with neutral, reliable facts.
Applications are submitted transparently through the European Union’s central Funding & Tenders Portal and fall into two main areas:
- Media funding calls
This funding stream provides co-financing for multimedia projects that report objectively, independently and pluralistically on the Brussels institution’s legislative and political processes. It is open to news agencies, broadcasters, print publishers, online media outlets and digital content creators on social media. The stated aim is to demonstrate the concrete impact of parliamentary decisions on citizens’ everyday lives and strengthen society’s resilience against targeted false information and disinformation campaigns. Under the program’s rules, the editorial independence of funded newsrooms remains unaffected.
- Initiatives for citizen and civil society participation
The second funding stream focuses on communicating European values, networking among NGOs and mobilizing civil society. National and pan-European non-profit organizations, citizen groups and youth networks are eligible to apply. The approved funding is used for online and in-person events, discussion forums, consultations and information campaigns, whose primary purpose is often to increase voter turnout.
All media content produced under the EU funding programs is subject to strict publication requirements: it must carry a standardized legal disclaimer.
The disclaimer states that the respective project was implemented with financial support from the EU, while editorial responsibility rests solely with the respective authors and the views expressed do not reflect the official position of the European Parliament.
Whether the approval and disbursement of these funds ahead of Hungary’s April 2026 elections—combined with financial support for newsrooms explicitly critical of Viktor Orbán—should be regarded as undue interference by an EU institution in the democratic will-formation process of a member state is left to readers to decide.