A bombshell report from Berliner Zeitung has revealed that Ursula von der Leyen’s European Commission wired over €604,000 to the controversial media network OCCRP immediately after the 2024 EU elections. The revelation came in response to a parliamentary inquiry by AfD MEP Petr Bystron.
The OCCRP (“Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project”) includes German establishment outlets such as Der Spiegel, Die Zeit and Süddeutsche Zeitung. These are the very same outlets that ran smear campaigns against conservative and EU-skeptical politicians in the run-up to the election. Critics say the payment looks less like support for “investigative journalism” and more like a payoff for political services rendered.
OCCRP’s Track Record: Targeting Populists
This is not the first time OCCRP-linked media have interfered in European elections. In 2019, Der Spiegel and Süddeutsche Zeitung detonated the infamous “Ibiza Affair,” toppling Austria’s successful FPÖ-government and driving the party’s EU election results down from 26% in the polls to just 17.2% at the ballot box.
In 2024, the same outlets again spearheaded attacks – this time together with Czech partner Denik N – falsely accusing politicians from six European countries of being “Moscow’s agents” because they gave interviews to Voice of Europe, a Prague-based news site critical of Zelensky’s regime.
Among those smeared were former Czech President Václav Klaus, ex-Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda, and AfD candidate Petr Bystron. None were ever charged with any crime, yet OCCRP media blasted the claims across Europe. Bystron endured 23 house raids based solely on OCCRP’s “reporting.” After more than a year, not a single shred of evidence has been found.
NATO Narrative and Media Propaganda
The attacks mirrored findings by U.S. investigative journalist Michael Shellenberger, who documented how NATO-linked networks financed smear campaigns to delegitimize critics of the Ukraine war. Rather than investigate, OCCRP outlets dutifully repeated the talking points – unverified, uncritical, and amplified millions of times.
Bought and Paid For
According to French outlet Mediapart, OCCRP has taken in nearly $50 million from U.S. sources, with funders holding veto rights over staff appointments and dictating yearly editorial agendas. The Panama Papers, for example, conveniently wiped out competition to U.S. tax haven Delaware. That wasn’t independent journalism – it was paid political warfare.
OCCRP and Trump’s Impeachment
The network even played a role in the 2019 impeachment drive against President Donald Trump, peddling CIA-fed stories that he withheld Ukraine aid. In reality, Trump was pressing Ukraine to investigate the Biden family’s corruption. One of Trump’s first moves after his reelection was to cut OCCRP’s funding from USAID.
Why Did von der Leyen Pay?
The question now is why Ursula von der Leyen’s Commission wired over half a million euros of taxpayer money to this network immediately after an EU election – especially when OCCRP’s record is riddled with election interference, propaganda campaigns, and ties to U.S. intelligence-linked funding.
As Berliner Zeitung concludes, this could be shaping up to be the biggest media scandal in postwar Europe.
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