The latest “research report” from the Sovereignty Protection Office (SPO) seeks to expose the consortium led by the publisher of 444, Magyar Jeti Zrt. as a tool for political pressure by the European Commission. The Eastern Frontier Initiative, which includes 444, Dutch Bellingcat, Polish Gazeta Wyborcza, Romanian PressOne, and Slovak SME, is funded by the EC’s Creative Europe programme. The project aims to monitor and analyze security developments in the Central European region.
The SPO’s report labels the participating organizations as part of a Soros network and accuses the Commission of violating national sovereignty by interfering in member states’ national security matters through the project: “Their aim is not to inform the public objectively but to advance the communication of the war strategy promoted by the European Commission, which primarily condemns the leadership of the two so-called renegade states, Hungary and Slovakia.”
According to the Office which uses public money to persecute and intimidate independent media outlets and civil society organizations, “…Brussels is overstepping its authority by financing propaganda campaigns on issues that fall within national competence and, moreover, deeply affect national sovereignty”.
This report aligns with the narrative found in previous publications by the SPO. It accuses organizations critical of the government of undermining national sovereignty by transparently obtaining foreign funding, based on publicly available information. Since the inauguration of President Donald Trump, EU funding has become the central focus of the SPO’s publications claiming that “the European Commission is building a new media empire”. “On one hand, the Commission is attempting to take the initiative in shaping social issues by bypassing national governments through a funding mechanism for the civil society sector, allocating substantial sums to the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme. On the other hand, it has reorganized its support for European media and significantly increased the resources of the Creative Europe programme.”
444, and all members of the consortium have rejected the unfounded absurd allegations that the project and the independent organizations involved are part of a foreign conspiracy.