Conservative think tank MCC Brussels has announced the launch of the Democracy Interference Observatory (DIO), a new initiative aimed at exposing and analyzing how the European Union and EU-linked actors influence national elections across Europe.
We are are delighted to announce the launch of our Democracy Inference Observatory, an initiative designed to expose, document, and analyse how the EU and EU-linked actors shape national elections across Europe. Follow us for upcoming news, analyses and insights! https://t.co/CHQnXDD0cW
“The purpose of the Democracy Interference Observatory is to make these mechanisms visible,” said Frank Furedi, executive director of MCC Brussels. “Elections must be decided by voters—not quietly managed through regulatory pressure, financial leverage, and information control. Transparency and free speech are the strongest safeguards of democratic self-government.”
The DIO will systematically monitor four key areas:
The information landscape, including the EU’s digital governance tools
Funding ecosystems tied to the EU
Institutional pressures and conditionality mechanisms
Narratives used to justify exceptional interventions
The observatory will begin with a close look at Hungary’s April 12 parliamentary elections, the first test case in a wider monitoring program.
The launch of the initiative comes in response to mounting evidence that today’s elections are influenced not just by domestic politics but also by networks connecting EU institutions, national governments, digital platforms, and politically active NGOs.
MCC Brussels points to examples like EU-financed NGO Democracy Reporting International (DRI), which has pursued legal action to access platform data related to the Hungarian elections. DRI receives 74% of its funding from governments—20% from the EU—prompting questions about political neutrality and overall transparency.
The observatory also references findings from the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, which documented coordination between authorities, tech companies, and NGOs during the Romanian presidential elections. MCC Brussels warns that a similar pattern—or “playbook”—may now be unfolding in Hungary, where opposition leader Péter Magyar has publicly urged for EU-level action against alleged foreign interference.
The DIO will publish its findings on an ongoing basis through public dashboards, investigative briefs, and evidence-based reports, ensuring that journalists, researchers, policymakers, and citizens can readily access the underlying documentation.
At its core, the project seeks to protect democracy, ensure genuine accountability, and safeguard free expression across Europe.
Economist, writer, and podcast host Philip Pilkington welcomed the initiative, writing on X,
The NGOs gave up their best card: honest fact-checking, journalism, and promoting actual democracy. Now that the whole system has become corrupt, others are stepping into the fray to monitor it honestly. EU politics will never be the same.
MCC Brussels has invited any organizations “dedicated to free speech and democratic accountability” to collaborate on the initiative.
