Brussels is supposedly the capital of EU democracy but is fast becoming the European capital of censorship. Last week, egg-throwing “anti-fascists” forced a hotel to cancel hosting an event on the new world of Trump 2.0.
Our event this week met the same fate – with the hotel pulling out. Luckily, in both cases we have been able to find alternative venues.
But the incredibly casual way in which a group of masked activists were able to scare the venue into compliance with their censorious demands should trouble all democratically minded citizens across the city.
This is not an isolated incident for us at MCC Brussels. We witnessed the cancellation by a bookshop of a book launch, as well as a coordinated attempt to intimate venues we have used into silence. The most egregious case, though, remains the incredible stand-off over NatCon Brussels.
Three separate Brussels mayors attempted to close down a major gathering of political leaders, culminating in an attempt by the police to forcefully close the event, was only just averted due to the incredible determination of the organizers, the courage of the venue owner, and the intervention of the British, Belgian and Italian Prime Ministers and the Belgian courts.
The irony, of course, is that these “anti-fascists” favor tactics most strongly associated with fascism itself and attack democratic discussion itself. The vandalism at the hotel is precisely the kind of behavior that undermines civil society.
These “anti-fascists” try and pretend that our MCC Brussels events are somehow proto-fascist or that we are involved in a sinister far-right conspiracy. Those who attacked the venue justified their attack by accusing us of the familiar roll-call of slurs: “racism, sexism, transphobia, climate skepticism”. Yet last week’s event was nothing more than a sober analysis of what Trump means for Europe.
This week’s event asks what the relationship is between conservative parties and women. In fact, this second event has particularly enraged the “anti-fascists”. An all-women panel will debate questions including whether traditionalist attitudes to abortion are harming conservative parties. But Antifa, it seems, have a particular interest in silencing women.
A matter of freedom of speech
But more broadly, questioning the political status quo or critiquing the EU is neither fascistic nor extremist; it is essential in a democratic society. Labelling anyone remotely critical of the prevailing liberal orthodoxy as "far-right" is a tired rhetorical ploy to stifle genuine debate.
The core issue here is freedom of speech. The right to speak, debate, and hold controversial views is foundational to Western democracy. As John Stuart Mill famously argued in ‘On Liberty’, freedom of speech includes precisely those ideas we find challenging or uncomfortable. By offering a platform for those with legitimate questions about EU policies, MCC Brussels plays a critical role by ensuring unpopular or challenging viewpoints remain part of the discourse.
Democracies depend not on uniform agreement but on vigorous disagreement and debate. When Antifa attacks events that peacefully challenge mainstream perspectives, they harm not just their immediate targets but democracy itself.
These incidents exemplify a broader, troubling trend across Europe: the increasing use of intimidation by self-appointed guardians of political morality. Antifa and similar groups arrogantly assume the right to decide what constitutes acceptable discourse, punishing dissent through harassment and threats.
Their targets—whether conservative think tanks, controversial speakers, or simply ordinary citizens with unfashionable views—are intended as warnings to others. This is not activism but bullying, threatening the very fabric of democratic debate.
Brussels should stand firm against such attempts at intimidation. Free societies flourish by openly confronting ideas, not silencing them through violence and vandalism. Political figures, EU institutions, venues, and citizens alike must reject these tactics clearly and publicly.
In the final analysis, democracy survives only when we vigorously defend the rights of all, even — perhaps especially — those whose views we find challenging or uncomfortable. Freedom of speech, like all rights, dies when people refuse to defend it. Such rights are not simply legal artefacts but lived realities. Antifa’s crusade reminds us how fragile the freedoms we take for granted really are.
