OPINION | Why ignoring Europe’s anti-EU voters is a fatal mistake

Last night, for the first time in months, I slept well. Like millions of Romanians, I watched our presidential election results with a sense of relief-relief that the far-right did not take it all. But as the sun rose, that relief turned to unease. Because while some celebrate, I can’t ignore the number that matters most: 5.339.053 Romanians voted for anti-EU, extremist, or radical parties. That’s more than a third of all voters. And this is not just Romania’s story. It’s Europe’s.

Part 2: Fraud? What fraud? How Belgium makes cases disappear.

For over a year, formal suspected fraud complaints were sent to SPF Finance, SPF Emploi, ONSS, OLAF, EPPO, the European Commission, the European Court of Auditors — backed by legal documents, financial records, and whistleblower evidence.

The result? Silence. Files closed without investigation. Jurisdiction ping-pong.

And at the top of it all, the Belgian Federal Public Service Finance — the authority responsible for fraud oversight, represented as an example by Filip Van de Velde, Chair of the Management Committee — who earned over €1 million in public salary in the past five years — never responded to a single one of our formal questions.

This is not oversight failure. It’s institutional indifference.

Public money is being drained, and those paid to defend it are doing nothing. This isn’t just Belgium’s problem. It’s Europe’s problem.

We’re putting the evidence on the record — because it’s time someone did.

Part 1: Brussels – how EU funds disappear behind the walls of ‘Non-Profits’

Meet Jan van Graabgold (a fictionalized name used for editorial and illustrative purposes only) — a composite figure inspired by publicly documented patterns observed in multiple Brussels-based AISBLs receiving EU funding.

In one such case, an executive director invoiced €21,352 per month through his private company in 2022 — absorbing nearly 45% of the organisation’s total human resources budget. Meanwhile, staff earned as little as €2,111 gross. According to public records and statute modifications, the role of Executive Director was no longer assigned to a person directly. Instead, it was assigned to a private company — the personal business of that same person who had been holding the role for years..

It’s a legal manoeuvre with massive implications — not just for transparency, but for every EU taxpayer funding it.

One decade of EU funding: where your taxes really go (2014-2023)

Between 2014 and 2023, the European Union allocated €551 billion in direct management funding across various categories, including member states, public bodies, private companies, NGOs, and international organizations. These funds reflect the priorities of each country, with some focusing heavily on public sector development while others prioritize private sector growth. But what do these categories mean, and why do some countries spend billions on government-led projects while others funnel funds into businesses and non-profits?

10 years of OLAF fraud investigations and EU’s untouchables

Belgium, recipient of over €31 billion in EU funds, has just four (4) OLAF fraud investigations in a decade.

Meanwhile, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Italy and Poland rack up over 540 combined cases. Coincidence or strategy? Investigating the EU’s untouchable funding beneficiaries and the real numbers behind Europe’s fraud oversight.

EU-funding: who’s winning BIG and who’s missing out?

The EU dream must be protected – but let’s talk about the Fine Print, let’s understand how EU-27 spend EU money.

Your taxes fund the EU. The EU funds institutions and organizations to improve YOUR life. Well…what’s in YOUR EU Wallet?

The silent battle – Whistleblowing

Understand it before you talk about it.`
Every morning, you open your laptop. The numbers stare back at you. That €21,352.87 monthly invoice from the director burns into your retina, while your own €2,111 payslip sits quietly in your drawer. Those 160 project hours reported in your name when you know you barely reported 35 to your supervisor.

Transforming EU Funding Oversight: from policy to practice

Understand it before you talk about it. Every day in Brussels, oversight mechanisms process billions in EU funding. Yet between policy and practice lies a gap wide enough for €182 billion to flow through with limited transparency.

The €182 Billion question: why HR cost transparency matters in EU Funding

Understand it before you talk about it. Every morning, somewhere in Brussels, €182 billion of EU funding flows through NGOs and NFPOs.