The decision by George Soros’ massive philanthropy to cut funding to European Union-based initiatives deals a significant blow to liberal democratic institutions as nationalist and populist forces surge across the continent.

Open Society Foundations, which controls most of the assets in Soros’s $US25 billion ($38 billion) family office, is preparing for a “radical shift” that will largely terminate funding in the EU and switch focus to areas outside the 27-member bloc, according to a letter sent to grantees that was seen by Bloomberg this week.

Bloomberg