{"id":31100,"date":"2026-07-31T12:08:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T12:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/31100\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T12:08:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T12:08:09","slug":"the-brussels-blacklist-how-the-eus-gatekeepers-silence-dissent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/31100\/","title":{"rendered":"The Brussels Blacklist: How the EU\u2019s Gatekeepers Silence Dissent"},"content":{"rendered":"

It has been over a month since the Brussels, Belgium-based conservative think tank MCC Brussels had its registration in the EU Transparency Register suspended. Now, the organization has published a video on their YouTube channel<\/a> titled The EU Tried to Shut Us Out | MCC Brussels vs EU Bureaucracy. explaining the details of the unfortunate situation.<\/p>\n

The video features John O\u2019Brien, Director of Communication at MCC Brussels. As he explained, his organaziation received notice of its suspension on 12 June, a Friday, two minutes to 5 pm\u2014the typical end of business hours. This was the end of a 14-month investigation process during which MCC Brussels rigorously complied with the requests and deadlines set by the Register.<\/p>\n

Mr O\u2019Brien also shared that not being registered with the Transparency Register does not mean that the think tank can no longer legally operate. However, it does mean that they will have trouble accessing EU institutions and events held by them.<\/p>\n

Tony Gilland, Chief of Staff at MCC Brussels, talked about a complaint filed against MCC Brussels by the Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) in 2025. That complaint was highly political, he stated, and described MCC Brussels as \u2018far-right\u2019 and \u2018Orb\u00e1n-adjacent\u2019. It also held things against the institution that should have no bearing on its transparency registration, such as holding a climate change conference where supposed climate change deniers were also featured, Mr Gilland added.<\/p>\n

That complaint eventually yielded no action by the EU. However, at the end of the 14-month investigation it triggered, MCC received the notification about their suspension in the Transparency Register. The reason: double registration.<\/p>\n

In accordance with the so-called \u2018single registration principle\u2019, each organization should only have one entry in the Register. However, as Mr Gilland explained, MCC Brussels is a separate and independent legal entity from MCC Hungary, even though it does receive its funding from its Hungarian parent organization, as it has always fully disclosed.<\/p>\n

Mr Gilland also went on to point out that even the FAQ section of the Registry\u2019s website claims that subsidiaries can file separate registrations from their parent organizations. MCC has also identified such examples, such as the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which has multiple regional branches with their own entries. He added that he believes that WWF groups are allowed to keep their registrations despite that because they are in line with \u2018the Brussels agenda\u2019.<\/p>\n

Belgian MEP Tom Vandendriessche of the right-wing populist Vlaams Belang Party also appears in the video. He is one of the over 50 MEPs who signed an open letter to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in defence of MCC Brussels following their suspension.<\/p>\n

\u2018The EU is weaponizing its regulations against its opposition,\u2019 MEP Vandendriessche has stated. \u2018Both in Parliament, and outside Parliament in civil society\u2019.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Mr Gilland described the Secretariat in charge of the EU Transparency Register as \u2018the investigator, prosecutor, judge, and jury all rolled into one\u2019.<\/p>\n

Watch the Video by MCC Brussels about their Suspension from the EU Transparency Register Below<\/p>\n

The EU Tried to Shut Us Out | MCC Brussels vs EU Bureaucracy<\/a><\/p>\n

A complaint was filed against MCC Brussels with the EU Transparency Register, the database that controls access to key EU meetings and decision makers. The complaint failed. But Brussels did not stop. The Transparency Register kept investigating until it found a different technical reason to suspend us.<\/p>\n

Related articles:<\/p>\n

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