According to Hoedeman, MCC Brussels<\/a> presents itself as a think tank, but in practice works with \u201ca very much predetermined agenda\u201d, rather than open-ended research \u2013 an agenda which promotes authoritarian, conservative politics inside the European Parliament.<\/p>\n MCC Brussels publishes reports, organises debates and workshops, and produces videos which circulate through far-right networks across Europe, and are\u00a0used by the European Parliament’s Patriots for Europe bloc.<\/p>\n This bloc consists of far-right parties, including Hungary’s Fidesz, France’s National Rally\u00a0and\u00a0Union of the Rights for the Republic parties, the Italian\u00a0Lega per Salvini Premier and the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO).\u00a0<\/p>\n On 23 March, members of these parties gathered in Budapest for the Patriots\u2019 Grand Assembly, a congress of nationalist movements hosted by Orb\u00e1n. The event drew key figures from Europe\u2019s populist right, including Marine Le Pen, Matteo Salvini and FPO leader Herbert Kickl, pledging to strengthen cooperation before the 2029 European Parliament elections.<\/p>\n Hoedeman sees MCC Brussels as a politically driven operation with \u201cpredetermined conclusions\u201d, designed to undermine EU-level protections for climate policy, civil society, gender rights and minority rights.<\/p>\n From Washington to Warsaw: how MAGA influence is reshaping Europe\u2019s far right<\/a><\/p>\n Patriots for Europe bloc<\/p>\n Chega\u00a0(“Enough”) \u2013 Portugal<\/p>\n Vox\u00a0(“Voice”) \u2013 Spain<\/p>\n National Rally,\u00a0Union of the Rights for the Republic \u2013 France<\/p>\n Vlaams Belang (“Flemish Interest”) \u2013 Belgium<\/p>\n Partij voor de Vrijheid (“party for Freedom”) \u2013 the Netherlands<\/p>\n Dansk Folkeparti (“Danish People’s Party”) \u2013 Denmark<\/p>\n Lega per Salvini Permier (“League for Salvini Premier”) \u2013 Italy<\/p>\n Freiheitliche Partei \u00d6sterreichs\u00a0(“Freedom Party of Austria”) \u2013 Austria<\/p>\n Ano 2011\u00a0(“Yes 2011”),\u00a0Motorist\u00e9 sob\u011b (“Motorists for Themselves”) \u2013\u00a0Czech Republic<\/p>\n Fidesz (“Alliance of Young Democrats”) \u2013\u00a0Hungary<\/p>\n Ruch Narodowy (“National Movement”) \u2013\u00a0Poland<\/p>\n Latvia First\u00a0\u2013 Latvia<\/p>\n (Germany’s Alternative f\u00fcr Deutschland (“Alternative for Germany”) party is not a member of the bloc.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A map showing the location of the Patriots for Europe bloc parties. \u00a9 Screenshot Patriots for Europe <\/p>\n <\/a> ‘Decline of national sovereignty’ <\/p>\n MCC flatly rejects that description. Rodrigo Ballester Esquivias<\/a>, head of the Centre for European Studies at MCC, told RFI the group is trying to correct what he sees as excessive centralisation in the EU.<\/p>\n In the 2025 report\u00a0The Great Reset<\/a>, which he co-authored with the Warsaw-based Ordo Iuris Institute<\/a>, he writes that the \u201cincreasing decline of national sovereignty\u201d is part of Europe\u2019s problem.<\/p>\n The Great Reset was\u00a0launched at various events across Europe, including in France and Spain, and far-right parties across Europe have incorporated elements of the report into their programmes, according to\u00a0Hoedeman.<\/p>\n Dissolving national sovereignty “was not the plan 70 years ago,\u201d Esquivias says. “If you want a strong European Union… you need to build it also on strong member states.”<\/p>\n For him, the alternative is either \u201cfierce nationalism\u201d or an EU that \u201ccastrates the nations\u201d in the name of integration.<\/p>\n The goal of the Great Reset report was to widen the debate on Europe\u2019s future, he says. \u201cWe want to show that a reform of the treaties can mean less centralisation,\u201d he explains, arguing that the Brussels consensus too often assumes \u201cmore Europe\u201d is the only direction possible.<\/p>\n Can Europe withstand the ripple effect of the MAGA political wave?<\/a><\/p>\n In his view, the EU should be \u201cmuch more pragmatic, much more neutral\u201d, and should be built from the \u201cbottom up\u201d through strong member states, rather than from the \u201ctop down\u201d through Brussels.<\/p>\n Hoedeman disagrees, saying that rather than strengthening the EU, the ideas presented in the report “basically mean a transfer of power away from the European Commission and the European Parliament, and a weakening of the powers of the European Court of Justice, and a re-nationalising that would undermine completely the role that the EU can have in defending citizens\u2019 rights”.<\/p>\n He says these could include\u00a0sexual minority rights, gender rights, environmental rights and digital rights.<\/p>\n ‘Unlimited resources’ <\/p>\n For Hoedeman, the strength of MCC\u2019s message lies in the resources behind it.<\/p>\n Dr\u00a0Bal\u00e1zs Orb\u00e1n, chairman of the board of trustees of MCC \u2013 and political director to Viktor Orban (no relation) since 2021 \u2013\u00a0told\u00a0Euronews<\/a>\u00a0the organisation received “a huge endowment, around \u20ac1.5 billion endowment from the Hungarian state” when it gained the status of a public foundation in 2020, which it says makes it independent.\u00a0<\/p>\n This endowment also included stakes in\u00a0MOL, Hungary\u2019s state oil and gas company, which has profited from Russian energy imports.<\/p>\n That funding, according to Hoedeman, gives MCC Brussels \u201cvirtually unlimited resources\u201d putting its budget second only to the prestigious Bruegel Institute<\/a>, which receives combined funding from some 20 EU member states.<\/p>\n MCC has also deepened its ideological and financial links with the American right, including the Heritage Foundation<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 responsible for President Donald Trump’s ultra-conservative “Mandate for Leadership \u2013\u00a0Project 2025” \u2013 and MAGA-aligned networks.<\/p>\n The Nazi roots of today’s global far-right movements<\/a><\/p>\n Esquivias welcomes this transatlantic dimension, saying the debate should not be shut down by what he calls Brussels’ conformity.<\/p>\n According to recent polls ahead of the election on 12 April, Orban is trailing his main opponent, Peter Magyar of the centre-right Tisza party.<\/p>\n Tisza has the support of 56 percent of decided voters, up from 53 percent in early March, while 37 percent are backing Orban’s backed Fidesz, down from 39 percent three weeks ago, a poll by 21 Research Centre showed<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the event of an Orban loss, the MCC “could face an existential threat,\u201d says Hoedeman, if a new Hungarian government tries to reverse the transfer of public assets that have built the organisation\u2019s wealth.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/tempImagedVzbYl.jpg\")
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