The European Parliament has called for closer scrutiny of EU funding for people and organizations suspected of links to the Muslim Brotherhood or political Islam, and for limits on institutional access for organizations linked to the Council of European Muslims. The requests drew objections from anti-racism advocates concerned about Muslim civil society.
The Oct. 8 resolution passed with 381 votes in favor, 167 against and 15 abstentions. Introduced by the European People’s Party (EPP), it urges an EU response to what Parliament calls “Islamist entryism.” The vote itself neither withdrew funding nor placed anyone on a terrorist list.
Parliament asked the European Commission to account for EU funds awarded to people and organizations suspected of links to the Muslim Brotherhood or political Islam. It also wants funding to be easier to trace as money passes through recipients. In a separate request, lawmakers called for measures to keep EU funds from beneficiaries connected to networks already on the EU terrorist list. The request for a review does not establish that any recipient misused funds.
The resolution asks the Council to consider listing Brotherhood-linked people or entities as terrorists only when they meet existing EU legal criteria. Such a listing would require a separate Council decision.
Parliament also wants organizations it associates with the Council of European Muslims kept out of EU institutions and events and removed from the EU Transparency Register. The groups it identifies include the Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organisations (FEMYSO). The resolution distinguishes Islam as a religion from political Islamism.
The European Network Against Racism (ENAR) said the measure targeted its network, including FEMYSO, and rejected allegations connecting its members to the Brotherhood. ENAR said its members faced risks to funding and institutional access. It did not attribute its recent loss of EU structural funding to those allegations.
In an Al Jazeera opinion article, Farid Hafez, a senior researcher with Georgetown University’s The Bridge Initiative, argued that the resolution could cast Muslim civic participation and anti-racism work as suspect. Before the vote, EPP lawmaker Céline Imart said her group sought to protect religious freedom while preventing EU funds from reaching groups she said threatened rights and freedoms.
Parliament’s official summary gives no timetable for further Commission or Council action.