MEP András László
The Danube Institute’s conference titled The Politicization of Aid highlighted the new landscape of aid, after the closure of USAID and beyond the NGO-industrial complex that replaced it.
In his welcome remarks, the Danube Institute’s President, John O’Sullivan, recalled the controversial history of international aid initiatives, with a special focus on the Hungarian-born economist Peter Bauer.
He emphasized that aid has always been an important—and contested—area of foreign policy. It can do good, but it matters what the intervention is aimed at and how large it is.
Danube Institute’s President, John O’Sullivan. Photo: Hungary Today
The plenary keynote was delivered by Fidesz MEP András László, who in his presentation outlined how
the Biden administration sought to influence Hungarian public life and the media through USAID-funded international organizations.
The politician also briefly addressed how EU digital regulation restricts freedom of speech and opinion. He further highlighted that the European Court of Auditors itself has found the financing of EU civil society organizations to be non-transparent.
He also reflected on the recently established European Democracy Shield, which is the new initiative of the European Commission to “strengthen, protect, and promote strong and resilient democracies”, and “set out a strategy for better protection and support for civil society organizations”. MEP András László called the initiative the “new shiny tool” used by the European Commission to “control political narratives”.
They are going to fund traditional media and who they see as dependable and trustworthy. And they are going to fund the censorship effort through the ‘Democracy Shield’ as well,”
he pointed out.
MEP András László at the event. Photo: Hungary Today
At the end of his speech he also reflected on the foreign interference attempts that target the Hungarian parliamentary elections, especially since the official election campaign period has begun.
“We are facing major interference from President Zelenskyy in the form of his decision to switch off crude oil supplies to Hungary. Ukraine is the transit country for Russian oil supplies to Hungary, which is our major source of oil import. Ukraine knows that (…) This is a high stake issue in our election because of the disruption, because of the chaos, because of the economic damage it could cause for us,” he concluded.
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Featured photo: Facebook/Danube Institute
The post Beyond USAID: Hungarian MEP Warns of Politicization of Grants and Media appeared first on Hungary Today.
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(@laszloan) January 12, 2026
