“There was little concern from the European Commission or affiliated organizations and think tanks when progressive NGOs in Europe received substantial support from the United States (including via USAID and other programs),” he said. “Only now, when funding may reach their political opponents, is it being framed as ‘foreign interference.’”
Broader cuts
Zuleeg, the EPC chief, said the non-renewal of the CERV money, which amounts to around €250,000 per year, would mean the organization cuts back on work related to topics such as democracy and citizens’ participation.
And while he made a distinction between think tanks, which organize events or commission research, and NGOs, which do the same but tend to advocate for a specific cause, Zuleeg said that the CERV grant cut “does also reflect in part, the controversy around funding going to advocacy organizations.”
That’s a reference to increased scrutiny from the same right-wing groups, as well as conservative politicians, into Commission cash for NGOs; in 2025, a European Parliament body was set up specifically to probe NGO funding.
Some sectors saw even stronger targeted action. Operating grants for health-focused NGOs, overseen by EU Health Commissioner (and Orban ally) Olivér Várhelyi, were scrapped entirely last year.
Fabienne Keller, a French MEP with the centrist Renew group who is also a board member of the Jacques Delors Institute, wrote to the Commission alongside the EPP’s Željana Zovko to ask the EU executive to reinstate 2026’s CERV funding.