The European Commission has admitted to handing millions in taxes to a variety of NGOs, leading to accusations Europe is paying for itself to be lobbied by “far-left… radical” groups.
European Commissioner for Budget and Administration Johannes Hahn has admitted that the EU funds a wide variety of NGOs residing on the far-left of the political spectrum to the tune of millions of taxpayers’ hard-earned euros. The revelation led one European lawmaker to tell Breitbart News the revealed payments are sustaining a left-wing echo chamber in Brussels, saying: “The EU is creating and financing its own advocacy and activist groups so they can artificially weigh in on EU decision-making”.
The admission came in response to a written question to the European Commission signed by several MEPs within the right-leaning Identity and Democracy and European Conservatives and Reformists groups.
In a statement on the matter published on Tuesday, Commissioner Hahn admitted that the EU hands millions in funding to a wide variety of left-wing groups, with the bloc giving over €4.5 million to ‘No Peace without Justice’ — a group originating from the so-called ‘Transnational Radical Party’ — and over half-a-million to “Droit au Droit”, who profess to campaign for “marginalised groups”.
The Commission claims to have had no meetings with ‘No Peace Without Justice ‘, despite the multi-million payout.
Hahn failed to reveal how much the EU hands to the likes of Amnesty International and George Soros-Linked Open Society Foundation, arguing that there are numerous NGOs registered with the union operating under those names.
The European Union’s own websites appear to reveal that organisations linked with both groups received over €10 million in funding each in a period ranging from 2014 to 2021.
Speaking to Breitbart Europe regarding the revelations, one of the politicians behind the written question, Flemish MEP Tom Vandendriessche, commented that the EC’s statement provides even more evidence that the EU is actually paying for itself to be lobbied.
“The European Commission is, directly and indirectly, subsidizing dozens of NGOs and lobbying organizations that are active in the fields of climate activism and human rights activism,” the Vlaams Belang member said, adding that both large and small organisations regularly receive funding from the international bloc.
“The EU is creating and financing its own advocacy and activist groups so they can artificially weigh in on EU decision-making,” he added, describing the organisations as often being “situated on the far left” and as including “radical activists”.
Meanwhile, another representative behind the question, German parliamentarian Dr Gunnar Beck, expressed frustration at the lack of scrutiny such funding faces, especially in the wake of the now-infamous Qatargate bribery scandal.
“While providing lavish EU funding to the NGO sector, the Commission is very reluctant to scrutinize the actual use of these funds, even in the context of the Qatargate scandal,” the Alternative for Germany rep told Breitbart Europe.
“The European Commission clearly stated that, regardless of the ongoing criminal investigation into the NGOs, it had no indications of any undue influence,” he continued. “This is preposterous. It clearly shows that the Commission´s internal audits are insufficient, if they take place at all.”
He also suggested that the massive spending in the sector could “alternatively” indicate that the European Commission is just using vast amounts of public funds “for the promotion of its own political agenda”, with Dr Beck describing the body as acting in a way “as if Qatargate never happened”.
