EU must never fund Islamists

The EPP Group wants to stop EU taxpayers' money from funding Islamist individuals or organisations.

"We need to make sure Europe doesn’t fund Islamists. Islam as a faith and political Islam as an ideology must not be conflated. We must protect both democracy and religious freedom. Where rules allow, the Council should list individuals and organisations linked to the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist entities. European money must not fund groups that threaten our rights and freedoms," said Céline Imart MEP, who is leading the EPP Group’s work on the topic, ahead of the vote in the European Parliament later today.

Some of the key messages for the EPP Group include a call for greater scrutiny of EU funding, full transparency over the funding’s ultimate beneficiaries and stronger safeguards to identify and prevent potential misuse of funds.

"EU funding must never reach individuals or organisations linked to Islamist networks. The European Commission and Member States must duly check who receives EU funding before it is granted. We must know who gets EU money, how much and through which programmes, and be able to trace every euro, flag the risks and stop funding where the rules are not met," said Tomáš Zdechovský MEP, the EPP Group's Spokesman for Budgetary Control.