A look at the MCC in Brussels

Written by: Ulli Jentsch

The Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) belongs to the network of think tanks loyal to Orbán and, as a Hungarian foundation under public law, has received substantial financial support. Its senior staff, such as Director General Zoltán Szalai and Board Chairman Balázs Orbán, are frequent guests at far-right conferences. Since November 2022, there has also been a branch in Brussels under the direction of Frank Füredi. German political scientist Werner J. Patzelt is the research director here. This year, the MCC Brussels has taken up and supported the current campaigns of the far right, such as on the topic of gender or the cross-party right-wing campaign against NGOs, with various publications and events.

On June 11, 2025, Virginie Joron (MEP for the Rassemblement National; member of an RN delegation to Assad in Syria in 2019), Tom Vandendriessche (MEP Vlaams Belang), and Stephan Bartulica (MEP from Croatia and chairman of the Political Network for Values) met at the MCC Brussels to discuss the Digital Services Act (DSA). The title of the event was “The Digital Services Act and Threats to Freedom of Expression.” The DSA is a central component of European digital policy and is currently highly controversial. It obliges large platforms to remove illegal content such as hate speech, disinformation, or dangerous products more quickly and transparently. Lina Dahm reported on her blog Antifeministische Allianzen (Anti-Feminist Alliances) about a similarly attended event on May 21, which was also attended by Paul Coleman, representative of the US Alliance Defending Freedom International (ADF International).

At another MCC event on the same day, Alice Cordier, president of the French “feminist and identitarian” Collectif Némésis, German journalist and pro-life activist Birgit Kelle, Polish commentator Aleksandra Rybińska, and Barbara Bonte (MEP Vlaams Belang, Belgium) to discuss the relationship between women and conservatism: "With only 19% of young European women identifying as conservative, the event explored the urgent question: what can the right offer women today?"
In the run-up to the event, there had been protests and attempts by the local Antifa to prevent it from taking place. The MCC has published a report on its website and a video of the panel here.

Redaction: Ulli Jentsch