Checking Who Receives the Money
The EPP’s demands begin before a grant is paid. Its statement calls on the European Commission and member states to check recipients in advance, identify ultimate beneficiaries and strengthen safeguards against misuse. The requested scrutiny extends beyond an applicant’s name to who benefits and through which funding programme.
“EU funding must never reach individuals or organisations linked to Islamist networks,” said Tomáš Zdechovský, the group’s spokesman for budgetary control. He also called for funding to stop when recipients fail to meet the rules. The statement identifies no specific grant, amount or proven instance of an unlawful transfer.
The Distinction in the EPP’s Position
Céline Imart, the MEP leading the group’s work on the issue, presented the initiative as a defence of democracy and religious freedom. “Islam as a faith and political Islam as an ideology must not be conflated,” she said before the vote.
Her proposed terrorist listings carry an explicit legal condition. The request concerns people and organisations linked to the Brotherhood where the applicable rules allow designation. It is not a declaration that Muslim organisations generally should face sanctions, or that an ideological association alone establishes the legal case against a particular entity.
A Vote, but No Automatic Sanctions
Renew Europe confirmed that Parliament adopted a resolution on Islamist entryism and the Brotherhood network’s influence on October 8, 2026. The European Conservatives and Reformists Group, which supported the initiative, reported 381 votes in favour, 167 against and 15 abstentions.
That moves the debate beyond an EPP press statement. It still leaves three separate stages: a political group’s demands, Parliament’s position and a legally effective Council listing. Adoption of the resolution does not demonstrate that a particular grant has been cancelled or that an organisation’s assets have been frozen as a result.
The Funding Oversight Background
The European Court of Auditors’ report 11/2025 identified inadequate NGO funding transparency and insufficient proactive checks on compliance with EU values. Those are findings about oversight systems, not proof that money reached the Brotherhood. They cannot establish wrongdoing by an individual grant recipient.
France’s Interior Ministry published its report on the Muslim Brotherhood and political Islam on May 21, 2025. Publication of that national assessment was not an EU terrorist designation either. Funding controls and terrorism sanctions require their own evidence and decisions.
Why the Issue Matters to Israel
Article 2 of Hamas’s 1988 charter describes the movement as a Brotherhood wing in Palestine. That explicit historical connection in the terrorist organisation’s own document explains the Israeli relevance. It does not remove the need to establish a separate case against another organisation.
On January 13, 2026, Washington announced terrorist designations involving the Egyptian, Jordanian and Lebanese Brotherhood branches. Lebanon’s branch received a Foreign Terrorist Organization designation as well as financial sanctions; Egypt’s and Jordan’s branches were sanctioned for supporting Hamas, according to the US Treasury. American measures do not automatically become European law.
The Dispute and the Next Step
Renew Europe backed action while rejecting hatred of Muslims. A joint statement published by FEMYSO rejected alleged Brotherhood links and accused the resolution of discrimination.
Under the EU framework based on Common Position 2001/931/CFSP, listing requires a relevant competent authority decision concerning a terrorism investigation, prosecution or conviction. The Council must assess the basis and provide reasons, with judicial review available. The material reviewed announced no date for such action following this appeal. The practical test now is which specific checks and legally supported decisions follow the political demand.
