George Sorors’ Open Society Foundations, which are now controlled by his son Alexander, will cease most of its operations in the European Union.
The move, which comes after foundation-funded NGOs ferried migrants to Europe for over a decade (mission accomplished?), comes after the $25 billion family foundation announced a headcount reduction of at least 40% following Alexander’s ascent.
Citing a “radical shift of strategic direction,” OSF says that their new operating model will require “significant further restructuring,” and “closing all regional and global programs,” according to a letter sent to grantees in Hungary which was seen by Bloomberg.
“Ultimately, the new approved strategic direction provides for withdrawal and termination of large parts of our current work within the European Union, shifting our focus and allocation of resources to other parts of the world,” reads the message, which cites another note sent to staff at OSF’s Berlin headquarters.
“OSF will largely terminate funding within the European Union, and further funding will be extremely limited,” it reads, without elaborating, except to say that the organization is pivoting because “EU institutions and governments were already allocating significant resources to human rights, freedom and pluralism” inside the bloc.