EU Institutions

Following the Euro: What the Commission Must Now Show about EU Money and the Muslim Brotherhood Network

Investigation · Prepared by the research team · 3 November 2026

In brief: key findings

Key findings: 1. The European Parliament's resolution of 8 October 2026 is a resolution, not a ban. 2. One of its demands, however, is concrete and checkable. 3. It asks the European Commission for "a comprehensive overview of all cases of EU funds awarded to persons and entities suspected of links to the Muslim Brotherhood or political Islam". 4. Under point 16 of the 2010 Framework Agreement between the two institutions, the Commission must report in writing within three months, extendable by one month, so a reply is due around 8 January 2027, or about 8 February 2027 if extended.

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Ardent research summary. Following the Euro: What the Commission Must Now Show about EU Money and the Muslim Brotherhood Network. The European Parliament's resolution of 8 October 2026 is a resolution, not a ban. One of its demands, however, is concrete and checkable. It asks the European Commission for "a comprehensive overview of all cases of EU funds awarded to persons and entities suspected of links to the Muslim Brotherhood or political Islam". Under point 16 of the 2010 Framework Agreement between the two institutions, the Commission must report in writing within three months, extendable by one month, so a reply is due around 8 January 2027, or about 8 February 2027 if extended. This investigation sets out what that overview would have to contain, which tools the Commission already holds, and the three tests that will show whether the reply is substantive. The full study, with its references, is on the Ardent website.

Summary

The European Parliament's resolution of 8 October 2026 is a resolution, not a ban. One of its demands, however, is concrete and checkable. It asks the European Commission for "a comprehensive overview of all cases of EU funds awarded to persons and entities suspected of links to the Muslim Brotherhood or political Islam" (European Parliament 2026, para. 19). Under point 16 of the 2010 Framework Agreement between the two institutions, the Commission must report in writing within three months, extendable by one month, so a reply is due around 8 January 2027, or about 8 February 2027 if extended (European Parliament and European Commission 2010). This investigation sets out what that overview would have to contain, which tools the Commission already holds, and the three tests that will show whether the reply is substantive.

1. The demand

According to the adopted text, P10_TA(2026)0342, the Parliament asks the Commission to:

  • ensure that no EU funds reach, "directly or indirectly", entities, contractors, subcontractors, beneficial owners or final recipients linked to networks on the EU terrorist list (para. 18);
  • provide the overview of funds awarded to entities "suspected of links" to the Muslim Brotherhood or political Islam (para. 19), setting out amounts and "the failures of control, traceability or risk assessment" (para. 20);
  • ensure "full traceability throughout funding chains" (para. 21);
  • "make full use" of the Financial Regulation, notably the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES) (para. 23); and
  • strengthen control over foreign funding and transnational partnerships, "particularly where they involve actors linked to Qatar or Türkiye" (para. 24) (European Parliament 2026; see also European Parliament Legislative Observatory 2026).

In recital J, the resolution states that entities "such as the Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organisations (FEMYSO), the European Network Against Racism, Al Sharq Forum, Islamic Relief Worldwide and the University of Gaziantep have received, or have been associated with projects receiving, EU funding … despite having raised serious questions regarding their ideological, institutional or financial links with networks linked to the Muslim Brotherhood or political Islam" (European Parliament 2026, recital J). The resolution does not name them in its request for the overview (paras. 19–20). For balance, recital O of the same text records that "no EU funding has been allocated directly to FEMYSO since 2019" (European Parliament 2026, recital O).

Tomáš Zdechovský MEP, the EPP Group's Spokesman for Budgetary Control in the Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats), framed the aim as being able to "trace every euro, flag the risks and stop funding where the rules are not met" (EPP Group 2026).

2. What the Commission already holds

The exclusion tool. Since 30 September 2024, when the recast Financial Regulation became applicable, EDES has operated under that regulation, Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509. Article 138(1) allows exclusion for terrorist-related offences. It also allows exclusion for "incitement to discrimination, hatred or violence against a group of persons ... or similar activities that are contrary to the values ... enshrined in Article 2 TEU", where this affects the entity's integrity and the performance of the funded commitment (European Union 2024). Unless there is a final judgment or administrative decision, exclusion normally needs a recommendation from the EDES Panel. Recital 117 of the regulation, which concerns the grave professional misconduct ground, requires evidence that is "sufficiently specific, convincing and concrete" (European Union 2024; European Commission, n.d.).

The limit. "Suspected of links to political Islam" is not an exclusion ground. The legal test is conduct, not association. A Commission overview based on suspicion of links would therefore be a political inventory, not a legal finding. That is how the reply should be read.

3. Three tests for the Commission's reply

  1. Scope. Does the overview cover indirect management and sub-granting (implementing partners, re-granting by intermediaries and final recipients), or only direct beneficiaries? The Parliament asked explicitly for the full chain.
  2. Method. Does the Commission say what counted as a "suspected link", and who assessed it? An unexplained list would be open to legal challenge. An explicit refusal to compile one, on the grounds that the Financial Regulation tests conduct, would itself be a meaningful answer.
  3. EDES use. Does the Commission disclose how many EDES Panel referrals or exclusions since September 2024 have relied on the Article 2 TEU incitement ground? This is the clearest measure of whether the existing tool is being used at all.

4. Context the Commission will weigh

On designation, the EU terrorist list under Common Position 2001/931/CFSP requires a decision by a competent authority, and members of the European Parliament had already asked which national decisions, if any, could serve as a basis (European Parliament 2025). Such decisions fall under the common foreign and security policy, where the Council acts unanimously (Treaty on European Union, art. 31(1)). The funding route is therefore the only part of the resolution the Commission can act on largely by itself.

On timing, the vote came nine days before the violence of 17 October 2026 in France. EU Today notes that the vote "was therefore not a response to those events", and stresses that any overlap between organisations is a matter of influence, "not an established explanation for the violence" (EU Today 2026). This investigation does not link the two.

5. Next steps for the Ardent tracker

  • ~~Retrieve the official adopted text of 2026/2868(RSP) and check the named examples.~~ Done on 3 November 2026: P10_TA(2026)0342 retrieved; named organisations are in recital J.
  • For each recipient, pull award records from the Commission's public Financial Transparency System and record amounts and programmes, without characterising them.
  • Log the Commission's reply on the day it arrives and score it against the three tests above.

References

EPP Group (Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) in the European Parliament). 2026. "EU Must Never Fund Islamists." 8 October. https://www.eppgroup.eu/newsroom/eu-must-never-fund-islamists.

Council of the European Union. 2026. Council Decision (CFSP) 2026/1882 of 30 July 2026 (review of the list under Decision (CFSP) 2026/455). Official Journal of the European Union L. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec/2026/1882/oj/eng.

EU Today. 2026. "French Unrest Brings EU Vote on Muslim Brotherhood Networks into Sharper Focus." 26 October, updated 27 October. https://eutoday.net/french-unrest-brings-eu-vote-on-muslim-brotherhood-networks-into-sharper-focus/.

European Commission. 2026. "Consolidated List of Persons, Groups and Entities Subject to EU Financial Sanctions." CSV file generated 23 October 2026. Accessed 3 November 2026. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/fsd/fsf/public/files/csvFullSanctionsList_1_1/content?token=dG9rZW4tMjAxNw.

European Commission. n.d. "EDES." Accessed 3 November 2026. https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/eu-budget/how-it-works/annual-lifecycle/implementation/anti-fraud-measures/edes_en.

European Parliament. 2025. "Inclusion of the Muslim Brotherhood in the EU List of Persons, Groups and Entities Involved in Terrorist Acts (Council Decision 2001/931/CFSP)." Question for written answer E-004796/2025, 2 December. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-10-2025-004796_EN.html.

European Parliament. 2026. "Resolution of 8 October 2026 on the Need for an EU Strategy to Counter Islamist Entryism and the Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood Network (2026/2868(RSP))." P10_TA(2026)0342. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-10-2026-0342_EN.html.

European Parliament and European Commission. 2010. "Framework Agreement on Relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission." Official Journal of the European Union L 304, 20 November 2010, 47–62. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32010Q1120(01).

European Parliament Legislative Observatory. 2026. "The Need for an EU Strategy to Counter Islamist Entryism and the Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood Network, 2026/2868(RSP): Document Summary." 8 October. https://oeil.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/en/document-summary?id=1919148.

European Union. 2024. Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2024 on the Financial Rules Applicable to the General Budget of the Union (Recast). Official Journal of the European Union L, 2024/2509. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/2509/oj/eng.

Treaty on European Union (consolidated version). 2016. Official Journal of the European Union C 202, 7 June 2016. Article 31. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:12016M031.