Frank Furedi Resigns as MCC Brussels Faces Financial Collapse
Frank Furedi resigned as executive director of MCC Brussels after the thinktank failed to pay staff for July and August following Hungarian funding cuts.
Executive director Frank Furedi resigned from MCC Brussels on Monday, citing a persistent failure to provide contractually agreed funds. A spokesperson for the thinktank confirmed that staff had not been paid for July or August, leaving the organization unable to pay suppliers or comply with Belgian insolvency laws.
The financial crisis follows the April election victory of Péter Magyar, who pledged to end state financing for the Budapest-based Mathias Corvinus Collegium Foundation. Magyar characterized the transfer of state assets to the organization as a crime and vowed to investigate the matter.
MCC Brussels, an offshoot of the Budapest foundation, previously operated as a well-funded entity that critics claimed defended the illiberal rule of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The organization has seen a sharp decline in capacity, with staff reduced from 25 employees to 12 and three research fellows following layoffs in June and July. In June, Balázs Orbán, a Fidesz MP and former chief of staff to Viktor Orbán, stepped down as chair of the MCC board.
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