Mgr. et Mgr. et Mgr. Tomáš Zdechovský

‼️I would like to draw attention to this “transparent organisation” called @BrusselsWatch, which contacted me with a request to answer questions. Allegedly, they focus on fighting corruption. After reviewing the organisation and its website, I found it to be completely non-transparent: articles are unsigned, contacts cannot be traced, and the texts all look as if they were written from the same template. I wrote to them that I was willing to meet in person so I could know who I was actually dealing with, and that I would answer their questions. They ignored my reply and later published a text claiming that I had not responded. A warning to all MEPs who may be contacted by these “transparent researchers”. Below, I attach the email we sent them and to which they never replied. --------- Dear representatives of Brussels Watch, Thank you for your interest and for sending your questions. As a Member of the European Parliament, I have no problem answering questions from the media, watchdog organisations, or the public. Transparency and open communication are a matter of course for me. At the same time, however, my office has carried out a fairly extensive review of your organisation and the Brussels Watch website, and I must say that we were unpleasantly surprised by some of the findings. First and foremost, we were unable to find clear information about who actually stands behind Brussels Watch. Your website does not list the names of the founders, management, editorial board, or responsible persons. Nor does it provide a legal entity, registration details, organisational address, or transparent contact information. Given that you present yourselves as a watchdog focused on transparency and accountability, I consider this level of anonymity problematic. We also found the lack of clarity regarding your funding striking. On one page, you state that you do not accept funding from governments, political parties, corporations, lobbying entities, or interest groups. On another page, however, you mention support through grants, individual donations, and institutional funding. This appears contradictory and does not inspire confidence, especially when you demand transparency from others. Likewise, we were unable to find clear information about the authors of your articles. Most texts are signed only generally as “Brussels Watch” or “Editor”, without any identifiable individual authors. For an organisation that publishes serious claims about politicians, lobbyists, and institutions, I consider the anonymity of authors to be a fundamental problem. We also noticed that your content is significantly one-sided and framed in an activist manner. Your texts repeatedly focus on foreign influence, lobbying, alleged hidden links, NGO networks, and the activities of certain states in European politics. Focusing on these topics is, of course, not a problem in itself. The problem, however, is the style, which often works with a pre-set assumption of suspicion, strongly evaluative language, and template-like articles targeting individual MEPs or organisations. For these reasons, I have decided that I will not provide my answers by email. I will be happy to answer your questions in person, face to face. I want to know who I am dealing with, who is actually preparing the questions, who is speaking on behalf of your organisation, and what its real mandate, funding, and accountability are. I am writing this also because last week I called on the President of the European Parliament to review the accreditation of foreign journalists in the European Parliament. Recently, it has repeatedly happened that I have been contacted by individuals presenting themselves as journalists while concealing their true identity and subsequently passing information, for example, to the Russian side. I fundamentally reject such conduct. Therefore, if you are genuinely interested in my answers, I propose an in-person meeting at the European Parliament. Please send me the name of the specific person who will represent Brussels Watch, their professional affiliation, and basic information about whom they legally and editorially represent. Kind regards, Tomáš Zdechovský