“Propaganda by Proxy”—Report Reveals EU Commission’s Hidden Agenda
17th February 2025
The European Commission has channeled billions of euros in public funds to finance NGOs and think tanks that, far from acting independently, have served as instruments to promote its political agenda. This is revealed by a newly published report from MCC Brussels titled ‘The Commission’s Propaganda by Proxy’, unmasking programs such as the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) one that aims to consolidate pro-EU narratives while marginalizing critical voices.
The report denounces the way in which the European Commission allocates funds to NGOs aligned with its values and objectives. “The Commission funds organizations that are economically dependent on its grants and that act as spokespersons for its agenda,” the document states, highlighting a clear distortion of civil society’s traditional role. It also criticizes the Commission itself, which, as an executive body, has evolved into an ideological entity in recent years, moving away from its original role of mere political management for which it was created.
Among the cited examples is the financing of the Young European Federalists (JEF), which has received more than 1.2 million euros between 2021 and 2025 to mobilize young people in favor of European federalization. Another case is the European Policy Centre (EPC), a think tank that has received nearly 30 million euros in the last decade and openly advocates for greater supranational integration.