What began as a partnership to fight corruption has spiraled into a legal battle over €240,000 and a broader crisis of trust in EU funding. The NGO in question is the Partnership for Social Development (PSD), led by Munir Podumljak. Based in Zagreb, PSD has spent decades exposing state capture and corruption in the Western Balkans. In 2017, PSD was brought in by the European Commission to help salvage a failing €1.7M anti-corruption project run by Transparency International (TI). PSD says it was promised a €300K grant and a future €2M framework deal.
PSD delivered its GRASP project, an assessment of corruption risks in six Balkan countries. The Commission said the reports lacked “added value” and canceled further collaboration.
In 2022, the Commission demanded repayment of €239,999.70. PSD refused and sued. A Belgian court ruled in the Commission’s favor, but PSD is appealing.
PSD claims it was “used” to cover up the failure of the TI project, then discarded when it wouldn’t conform to shifting political expectations. “We were punished for not playing along,” said Podumljak.
The Commission denies wrongdoing and insists the grant followed all rules. But the case highlights how small NGOs can be left vulnerable when informal expectations replace formal accountability. Today, PSD is broke, unable to pay staff or bills. Its story is a cautionary tale for civil society groups navigating the opaque world of EU funding.