Press
The revelations by exiled journalist Metin Cihaner show how Turkish organizations receive money from the EU. The organizations are particularly known for their lobbying for Erdogan.
Brussels/Ankara – These are controversial organizations that are directly linked to the Turkish government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and sometimes also make propaganda for them. The scandal of the story is that these Turkish organizations are using money from the EU financed.
EU funds for the SETA Foundation close to Erdogan? Apparently hundreds of thousands of euros were spent
“Who does the EU finance in Turkey? TRT, TÜGVA, TÜRGEV, SETA Foundation, IHH, ÖNDER Imam Hatipliler Dernego and Dünya Etnospor Konfederasyonu are just some of the organizations I have identified so far,” writes exiled Turkish journalist Metin Cihan on X. Cihan also published evidence of a project , for the the AKP-affiliated think tank “SETA Foundation” should have received 250,000 euros (project start December 31, 2023, project end June 30, 2026). The SETA Foundation is said to have received EU funds amounting to 41,020 euros for another project (project started on December 31, 2023, project ended on December 30, 2024).
“To put pressure on opponents of the Turkish government”
The SETA Foundation (Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research) has offices in various countries. The organization is also well known in Germany. “This is a think tank operating as a foundation that is close to the Turkish ruling party AKP. SETA is used to publish the positions of the current Turkish government in German under the label Science and Research. Through events and publications, SETA works to feed these points of view into the social discourse in other European countries. In 2019, SETA published two Turkish-language reports that served to put pressure on opponents of the Turkish government,” said the federal government’s response to a parliamentary question from the FDP parliamentary group on December 19, 2020.
Journalists critical of Türkiye targeted
In a comprehensive report entitled “The extended arm of international media organizations in Turkey”, the foundation targeted German and international journalists because they were critical of the Türkiye had reported. In the 202-page report, the affected journalists were named and screenshots of their X-activities were published. The report primarily concerns journalists from the international media organizations BBC, Deutsche Welle, Voice of America, Sputnik, Euronews, CRI and Independent.
Criticism of the EU for supporting Erdogan’s lobby organizations
The criticism of the EU for its support of organizations close to Erdogan is therefore all the more understandable. “In principle, I have nothing against an organization receiving or giving funds. But there are two problems here. First: the hypocrisy of those in Turkey who accuse those who receive funds from the West of being traitors/foreign agents. Second: The hypocrisy of some foreign foundations that supposedly support the fight for democracy in the world,” said the Turkish exiled journalist Can Dündar in an interview with FR.de from IPPEN.MEDIA. Dündar was himself targeted by the Turkish government and had to leave the country. “Isn’t it time for the West, Europe and Germany to decide whose side they are on?” Dündar asked.
Left-wing MPs call for an end to EU funding
The Bundestag member Gökay Akbulut (Die Linke) is also calling for an end to the support of organisations close to Erdogan. It is unacceptable that Erdoğan’s networks are financed with European funds. “We are calling on the EU to examine the projects and end the financial flows to TRT, TÜGVA, TÜRGEV, SETA Vakfı, İHH, ÖNDER İmam Hatipliler Derneği ve Dünya Etnospor Konfederasyonu,” Akbulut told FR.de.
Erdogan wants to make life more difficult for foreign foundations and media
The paradox is, above all, that the AKPErdogan’s government will soon pass a law that will make it more difficult for foreign foundations and media to work in Turkey. “As the ruling alliance drafts a ‘foreign influencer’ law to target local civil society and independent media that rely on international development funds, journalist Metin Cihan has revealed that government-affiliated and state-run organizations are taking a large share of these funds Claim,” writes Gürkan Özturan from the European Center for Press and Media Forum in Leipzig on X.
Erdogan’s children’s foundations also receive EU money
But it’s not just the SETA Foundation that receives money from Brussels. The “Dünya Etnospor Konfederasyonu” (Translated: Confederation of Ethnic Sports in the World) also receives money from European taxpayers. The “president” of the association is Bilal Erdogan, the son of the Turkish president.
Cihan also posted evidence of this; the club received 500,000 euros from the EU. Bilal Erdogan sits on the “High Advisory Board” of TÜGVA (Türkiye Genclik Vakfi – Translated: Turkish Youth Foundation), which is also said to have received EU money. The TÜRGEV Foundation is also one of the recipients of EU funds. Erdogan’s daughter, Esra Albayrak, sits on the board.
Apparently also EU tax money for state broadcaster TRT
According to Cihan, the state broadcasting group TRT also received money from Brussels. The extent to which the TRT has degenerated into a propaganda tool for Erdogan became clear in the run-up to the Turkish local elections on March 31st. Over a period of 40 days (January 1, 2024 – February 10), Erdogan’s speeches were broadcast live for a total of 1,945 minutes. During the same period, the opposition leader’s speech was broadcast for only 25 minutes. The president received around 78 times more airtime than his opponent.
None of the Turkish organizations mentioned gave the FR.de editorial team an answer to questions about EU financing within the set deadline.
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