Right-wing Brussels news portal run with Hungarian taxpayer money

The European Conservative newspaper brussels

Source: Facebook/The European Conservative

In less than three years, the publisher of the Brussels-based news portal The European Conservative has received HUF 1.6 billion (EUR 4.2 million) from a Hungarian foundation, Szabad Európa found. The publisher of the English-language conservative political journal, European Conservative Nkft., is registered in Budapest. Its editor-in-chief is Alvino-Mario Fantini.

According to Szabad Európa, some of the money received by the publisher from the publicly funded Lajos Batthyány Foundation (BLA) was given for specific purposes other than the journal’s operating expenses. These included the launch of a continuous online news service on the magazine’s website and the rent of an office in Brussels.

In return, the publisher promised that European Conservative would become “the leading European news portal” and help build European conservative communities.

Szabad Európa learnt that a group of European right-wing political philosophers used to run an internal newsletter under the same name. András Lánczi, former chairman of the board of trustees of Századvég, a think tank close to Fidesz, and now a trustee of the pro-government Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), was also included.

The article adds that BLA was previously a private foundation with Fidesz ties, 24.hu writes based on Szabad Európa. And, from 2015 onwards it received increasing amounts of state funding. First through the Prime Minister’s Office and then through the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Office. In 2021, a new law moved BLA into the category of public interest trusts, which perform public functions independently of the government and must be funded from public funds. This year alone, the BLA received more than HUF 9 billion (EUR 23.7 million) in public funding.

If you wish to read a story about PM Viktor Orbán’s son-in-law receiving a fortune from Hungary’s 7th richest man, click HERE.

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7 Comments

Huxit says:

26/07/2023 at 11:06

The majority elected this team. If that is what my fellow Hungarians want, then it is no surprise that our population goes down each year and more and more of us are leaving for other places in the EU.
Norbert says:

26/07/2023 at 11:08

It was Soros! False flag. Nothing to see, folks.
Tm says:

26/07/2023 at 14:42

The Biden regime recently gave 25 million dollars to the left wing media in Hungary – like in Ukraine 2013 they insisted the elected Hungary president needs to go. The US ambassador here is part of the agenda.
To the poor fool who wants to leave- I will give you a free ticket to SF. Once one of the worlds most beautiful cities- no passport needed – just tell them you escaping the dictator Obran- all your expenses paid. It was still illegal to steal, but now if you keep it under 1000 dollars- no problem.
mariavontheresa says:

26/07/2023 at 18:18

Taxpayers’ money spent on conservative newspaper money is well spent.
Anonymous says:

26/07/2023 at 21:54

It is tragic that while millions of Hungarians don’t have enough money for food Fidesz wastes millions of Euros on funding media sites outside of Hungary. That’s not the only pet foreign project Fidesz squanders money on. It spent millions on a church in Mexico as if the Mexicans themselves can’t build it and he also gave a grant of millions for a Russian Orthodox church to be built in Heviz to give the Orcs a place for their Satanic prayers while on vacation in Hungary. Fidesz squanders money while Hungarians go hungry.
Norbert says:

27/07/2023 at 11:21

Leading by example is not really a thing, is it, @TM and @mariavontheresa
mariavontheresa says:

27/07/2023 at 21:40

Anonymous, there is no way Hungarians go hungry. You are thinking of seniors in Germany or American middle-class members. From what I read and heard, even under the horrible oppression of Russia and communist Hungarian government, people always managed to have food. During WWII, Hungarians managed to eat and not starve. Try not to write such nonsense. Hungary is a food producing country, always managed to feed its population.