In the last two years, nearly 18 million euros of funds, demonstrably from the European Commission's CERV program, have arrived in Hungary, and nearly three quarters of these funds have been received by political pressure organizations.
According to a statement summarizing the analysis of the Office for the Protection of Sovereignty, the Ökotárs Foundation has been carrying out money distribution and network-building tasks for foreign pressure groups in Hungary since 1994.
The majority of its income is provided by foreign funding, initially it received funds through an Eastern and Central European network center (Environmental Partnership Association) from American foundations such as Ford, the Rockefeller Foundation or the Soros Foundation, and after Hungary's accession to the EU, the funding model was gradually transformed . Most of the revenue of the network is now due to the European Commission.
The European Commission's CERV program (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values), which has been in operation since 2021 with a budget of 1.5 billion euros, can finance political pressure organizations directly, without the intervention of individual governments and state authorities.
According to the office's analysis, Anna Donáth, former Member of the European Parliament of Momentum, also played an active role in the development of the financing model. In the last two years, nearly 18 million euros of funds, which can be proven from the CERV, have arrived in Hungary, and nearly three quarters of these funds have been received by political pressure organizations.
The Ökotárs Foundation received more than 3.3 million euros from these grants, which it distributed among organizations proven to be connected to foreign pressure networks, such as Amnesty International Hungary, the Helsinki Committee and the Society for Freedom Rights (TASZ), but also to significant sums Ütrátzó and 444 also arrived.
According to the analysis of the Office for the Protection of Sovereignty, the Ökotárs Foundation also participated in the direct distribution of tender funds announced by the United States Embassy in Budapest. David Pressman leköszönő amerikai nagykövet 2023 őszén írt ki a „hálózati aktorok közvetlen támogatására”pályázatot. The Ökotárs Foundation was entrusted with the allocation of funds, and the Mérték Media Analysis Workshop founded by Gábor Polyák was entrusted with their professional assessment. A támogatások sorsáról 2025-ben is ők dönthetnek.
More than HUF 115 million have been distributed from American sources until January 2024, among others Telex, Klubrádió, Nyugat.hu, as well as 444, Magyar Narancs, Átlátszó and Tilos Rádió, also supported by György Soros' network.
The office's analysis draws attention to the fact that Gábor Polyák, who decides on American sources, and the Mérték Media Analysis Workshop, which he leads, have been actively participating in the chapter of the EU's "shadow reports" on the Hungarian media market, which is based on non-public methodological foundations, since the beginning of the rule of law procedure that began with the adoption of the Sargentini report. in its creation. Ezen tevékenységével pedig súlyos károkat okozott Magyarországnak.
The Office for the Protection of Sovereignty draws the attention of Hungarian state bodies to the fact that the presence and operation of the Ökotárs Foundation and the network structure covering the entire region pose a serious sovereignty risk for Hungary, the office said in a statement.
Cover photo: civilek.info
