CEO submits official complaint against Orban thinktank's lobbying secrecy
CEO has submitted a formal complaint to the EU Transparency Register secretariat about MCC Brussels failing to disclose financial information, including funding sources.
| Clause(s) allegedly breached: | clauseF |
| Details of non-compliance with the above code: | After decades of undermining democracy in Hungary, prime minister Viktor Orban has set up a very comprehensive propaganda machine for exporting his authoritarian politics via dozens of far right organisations. One of these organisations is the Brussels-based thinktank MCC Brussels, affiliated with the Budapest-based Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC). MCC Brussels has been actively influencing EU policy debates and decision-making at least since November 2022 (see inaugural event https://brussels.mcc.hu/news/mcc-brussels-a-new-forum-launched-to-shake-up-european-debate-and-discussion), but almost 2 ½ years later still doesn't disclose any meaningful financial information. In their January 2024 Transparency Register entry and again in their January 2025 update, MCC Brussels claims they're a "Newly formed entity, no financial year closed." This claim is clearly misleading as MCC Brussels has been active since November 2022. The fact that they only joined the Transparency Register as late as in January 2024 does not justify bypassing basic transparency obligations. The Transparency Register guidelines specificy the following regarding the “Newly formed entity, no financial year closed” category: ”You should only tick this box if your organisation has only been set up recently and you have not yet closed your accounts for the most recent full financial year. This option reflects a transitional situation for newly established interest representatives. You must provide the financial data requested at the time of your first annual update or, at the latest, the next annual update. Please note that you can only use the ‘newly formed’ status for 24 months.” The MCC’s registration with the Belgian Crossroads Bank for Enterprises mentions the following deadlines (see https://kbopub.economie.fgov.be/kbopub/zoeknummerform.html?lang=en&nummer=0804986271&actionLu=Recherche):End date financial year: 31 December Start date exceptional fiscal year: February 7, 2023 End date exceptional fiscal year: December 31, 2023 In other words, MCC Brussels has had several financial years closed already. Continuing to identify as a “Newly formed entity, no financial year closed” is clearly unjustified. Meanwhile, MCC Brussels is publishing reports and hosting debates on EU policy issues, promoting Viktor Orban's far right political agenda, but it goes far beyond traditional thinktank activities. It has for instance been very active around the farmers' protests earlier this year, bringing together farm protest leaders and far right politicians. It also brought together climate deniers for a debate in Brussels just weeks before the European Parliament elections. |
| Was any harm caused to the complainant? | yes |
| Comments: | Yes, being active in influencing EU policy-making, MCC Brussels clearly should be required to disclose sources of funding and financial contributions as well as their (estimated) total budget. There is strong public interest in this information being publicly available. With democracy in Europe being under severe attack by authoritarian forces from inside and outside Europe, the financial disclosure obligations of the EU Transparency Register must be strongly enforced to avoid secretive financial flows boosting the activities of organisations like MCC Brussels. |
| Was the non-compliance intentional? | yes |
| Comments: | Yes, the lack of transparency by MCC Brussels has been challenged by DeSmog, Corporate Europe Observatory and others, but MCC Brussels continues to maintain secrecy around its budget and funding sources. See: https://www.desmog.com/2024/05/29/mathias-corvinus-collegium-mcc-oil-funded-think-tank-gathers-climate-deniers-crucial-eu-elections/ and https://corporateeurope.org/en/2024/10/orbans-oil-funded-thinktank-murky-transparency |
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