Brussels news site financed in full by an annual EUR 1.5m from Fidesz-aligned media holding

Activities of a Brussels-based English-language news site were financed entirely by the Fidesz-aligned media holding Mediaworks throughout 2024, an investigation by Atlatszo has revealed based on Hungarian and Belgian documents. The news outlet, named Brussels Signal, is linked to a former advisor of the outgoing Hungarian ruling party, but exact details of its financial background had remained a mystery until now.

The situation is particularly striking given that, in exchange for EUR 1.5 million in funding, the editorial team’s duties extended beyond content sharing: they were also tasked with passing on information gathered in Brussels to Mediaworks contact persons.

Mediaworks is the umbrella corporation for numerous publications within the Fidesz-affiliated media empire, financed during the Orbán administrations through public funds and the distortion of the advertising market. According to an expert interviewed by Atlatszo, Mediaworks may have amassed over HUF 100 billion in state advertising revenue in this manner over the years.

Mediaworks footed the entire bill

Atlatszo is in possesion of information on the contents of the contract signed on February 20, 2024, between the parties: Mediaworks Hungary Zrt. – represented by president and CEO Erika Kálmán and deputy CEO Péter Csermely – and the Belgian company Remedia Europe Srl, the publisher of the Brussels news site. The contract states that Brussels Signal “operates primarily in the city of Brussels, and as such, obtains press and other information, as well as news, quickly and directly,” which may be of interest to Mediaworks.

According to the agreement,

Remedia was responsible for providing access and usage rights to Brussels Signal content in exchange for a service fee of EUR 1.5 million.

However, Remedia undertook additional tasks for Mediaworks that went far beyond standard content cooperation– a practice less than common in the media market.

The contract stipulated that Remedia’s duty was “to notify the contact persons designated by the Principal of all the news information that is acquired by the Agent or Agent’s contributors, on short notice and without delay”. ” The determination of what constitutes “relevant news information” was left to the Mediaworks contacts.

Since the contract required Remedia to handle all information regarding Mediaworks and the agreement confidentially, this clause essentially constituted a mandate for confidential information gathering, the objectives of which were defined by Mediaworks.

Furthermore, according to the contract, Remedia was required to assist “Relevant Persons” with expertise, advice, and contacts. The contract identified these “Relevant Persons” as the Brussels correspondents of Mediaworks, and another mysterious group described as “other contributors participating in content production tasks for the benefit of the Principal”.

These “Relevant Persons” were also to be granted access to the infrastructure of Brussels Signal,

which at the time held a prime downtown office location in Brussels. Moreover, Remedia was tasked with actively assisting these “Relevant Persons” with “local administration related to their settlement in Brussels and establishing the necessary conditions for their accomodation.”

Atlatszo confirmed that in the year of the contract, the Belgian company Remedia had no income other than the EUR 1.5 million received from Mediaworks. In other words, every expense of Brussels Signal that year—including the rent for the editorial office on Rue Montoyer in the upscale EU district and the journalists’ salaries—was paid by Mediaworks down to the last eurocent.

This unusual arrangement is unlikely to win the Fidesz party new friends in the Belgian capital, which has been rocked over the past year by several espionage scandals with links leading back to the outgoing government of Viktor Orbán.

An influence network

It has long been suspected that the business model of Brussels Signal relied on some form of Hungarian politically-linked financing, as the organization –operating in a capital city not exactly known for being cheap – did not collect donations or subscription fees from its readership, nor did it carry significant advertising.

However, until now, the exact financing of the Belgian Remedia and its Budapest-based parent company, Remedia Corp Kft., was unknown. The latter was supported at its inception by a loan of HUF 174 million (cca. 0.5 million EUR) from an undisclosed source.

The contract with Mediaworks was signed by Remedia’s CEO and indirect owner, Patrick Egan. The American-born Egan previously worked as a campaign consultant. He provided advice to the outgoing Fidesz government, and his Hungarian wife was formerly a Fidesz municipal representative.

Through another of his companies, FWD Affairs Kft., Egan is clearly linked to the international influence network built over the last decade using state funds to support Viktor Orbán’s policies. One of the main financiers of this network is the Batthyány Lajos Foundation (BLA), which funds think tanks, media organizations, and public intellectuals.

According to data gathered by Atlatszo’s journalist,

FWD Affairs Kft. has received a total of HUF 255 million (approx 0.7 million EUR) from the BLA to date to publish Remix,

an English-language news site focusing on V4 countries. (The news site, incidentally, has ties to Viktor Orbán’s sovereigntist Polish allies and even a Russian espionage case).

Atlatszo first reported on Remix in 2020. At that time, the massive sums moving through this influence network were not yet known; according to our current information, the BLA has financed members of this network with a total of HUF 46.5 billion (EUR 130.2 million) through mid-2025.

Atlatszo has also learned that FWD Affairs invoiced the Belgian Remedia as well. In that year, the company publishing Brussels Signal transferred approximately ten percent of its revenue from Mediaworks – about EUR 150,000 –to the Hungarian firm for business consultancy services.

It is difficult to find a rational explanation for this transaction – unless it was Egan’s way of ensuring he could profit off from the Mediaworks funding. To our knowledge, the Hungarian company is profitable, while the Belgian Remedia had accumulated a loss of EUR 949,000 by 2024.

Instead of answers, threats

Atlatszo sent inquiries to Erika Kálmán and Péter Csermely, offering the Mediaworks executives an opportunity to comment on the information presented in our article and asking several specific questions.

Instead of answers, Atlatszo’s journalist received a legal threat from a central Mediaworks email address. It stated that “the contents of Mediaworks Hungary Zrt.’s contracts constitute the business secrets of Mediaworks and its partner,” and that “the transmission, use, disclosure, or any further misuse of data obtained through prohibited data acquisition constitutes a criminal offense.”

Atlatszo received no response to the questions sent to Patrick Egan.