TAI Hosts NGO Monitor and IMPACT-se

On March 26 – 27, TAI organized a high-level advocacy visit to Brussels featuring Olga Deutsch, Vice President of NGO Monitor, and Marcus Sheff, CEO of IMPACT-se. Over two days, they presented groundbreaking research on EU funding to Palestinian entities, delivering a strong and urgent call for reform. 

The visit began with a strategic breakfast discussion for the Council’s MaMa (Mashreq and Maghreb) Working Party diplomats, setting the stage for a full day of engagement. This was followed by a private lunch briefing with Members of the European Parliament, hosted by MEP Niclas Herbst, Chair of the Budgetary Control Committee, and MEP Johan Van Overtveldt, Chair of the Budget Committee. Key figures such as MEP Hildegard Bentele, Chair of the Delegation for Relations with Israel, and MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen, Vice-Chair of the Delegation, joined the well-attended session, along with other influential lawmakers. 

In the evening, Olga and Marcus held a critical round of discussions with Ambassadors to the Council’s Political and Security Committee (PSC). TAI also secured a series of high-level meetings with senior advisors from European Commissioners' cabinets to raise direct concerns about EU funding practices. 

Marcus Sheff presented alarming findings on incitement in Palestinian textbooks, making a powerful case for urgent educational reforms — reforms that the Palestinian Authority has repeatedly refused to implement.  

Both organizations issued a strong call to action: implement stricter vetting procedures for funding recipients, broaden the definitions of terrorist affiliations, and dramatically enhance oversight mechanisms to ensure EU taxpayer money is not funneled to extremist groups. They demanded greater transparency and accountability in EU funding, emphasizing the serious risks to European values and regional stability if urgent reforms are not enforced.