EU funding turns sour: How a Croatian anti-corruption NGO fell out with Brussels

Munir Podumljak has spent his career rooting out corruption in Southeast Europe, exposing the capture of public resources by political elites through his NGO, the Partnership for Social Development.
Today, the man once hailed as a partner in Europe’s anti-corruption battle is in a very different fight – this time against the European Commission itself.
A Belgian court has ordered PSD to repay nearly €240,000 in grant funding – a decision the group is appealing. PSD claims the Commission punished it for refusing to quietly conform to shifting expectations and politically expedient compromises.
“We were used to cover up the failure of another EU project – and then discarded when we wouldn’t play along,” said Podumljak.
PSD’s legal battle with Brussels offers a sobering look at the risks small civil society organisations face when EU funding, political expectations, and informal understandings collide.