The Soros Foundation explained that they will “reorganize” their activities in the EU and increase funding in Ukraine
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The Open Society Foundation of the Hungarian philanthropist George Soros is not closing, but changing its activities in the EU, and its work in Ukraine will even expand.
As “European Truth” reports, such a statement was published by the International “Renaissance” Foundation – the Ukrainian branch of the Foundation – after reports that the “Open Society” Foundation allegedly decided to almost completely curtail its activities in the EU.
The “Renaissance” International Foundation, which is part of the “Open Society” Foundation, stated that it is incorrect to talk about the “curtailment” of activities in the EU: work there will be preserved within the framework of a new organizational model.
“The partial staff reductions of the Open Society Foundations network in Europe, which will largely affect the network’s offices in Berlin and Brussels, are the result of the transition to a new operating model and a global review of how the network works to support democracy, human rights and climate justice. Work in the EU will remain, but will become part of the network’s global efforts. This optimization of the structure will not affect the International Renaissance Fund operating in Ukraine, as well as other national funds in Moldova, Kyrgyzstan and the Western Balkans,” the statement said.
“Reduction of staff is not the same as curtailment of activities, if we are talking about a charitable grant-giving organization – it will simply be done more by the hands of strategic grantees, and not by our own hands,” explained Oleksandr Sushko, executive director of the International Renaissance Foundation, in a comment to “European Truth”.
He added that in many places the Foundation works completely remotely, without having offices.
In Ukraine, on the contrary, work is increasing. Thus, the budget in 2022 increased by 102% compared to the 2021 budget; the program activity budget in 2022 became the largest in all 33 years of the Fund’s history in Ukraine. These are projects in such areas as support for democratic participation and public control, assistance to war victims, defenders of Ukraine and volunteers, recording of Russian war crimes, advocacy for bringing the aggressor country to justice, expansion of international support for Ukraine, promotion of European and Euro-Atlantic integration, etc.
Oleksandr Sushko noted that supporting Ukraine remains one of the key priorities for George Soros.
“Today, a key battle of democracy against tyranny, the values of an open society against the evil empire is taking place in Ukraine, and this resonates very much with the global mission of philanthropy of the Soros family. George Soros believes in the victory of Ukraine and that it will be the end of the Russian empire,” he said. he.
It will be recalled that earlier the Hungarian Radio Liberty service reported that the Open Society Foundation decided almost completely shut down activities in the European Union. The Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, commented on this as the “withdrawal of the occupying forces.”
Philanthropist George Soros, who is originally from Hungary, often appears in the rhetoric of the Hungarian authorities as the embodiment of “intentions to undermine Hungarian statehood.” During the premiership of Viktor Orban, a fellow of the Soros program, it was closed funded by that universityand an anti-migrant law was also adopted, called “Stop Soros”.
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