MBDA parts for bombs that the IDF deploys in Gaza - our investigation with @arianelavrilleux.com @juliettegarside.bsky.social @manisha.bsky.social for @disclosengo.bsky.social @theguardian.com and @ftm.eu is shortlisted for the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize daphnejournalismprize.eu/edition-2025...

Breaking: Dutch court rules that Meta needs to offer chronological/ non algorithmic feed as clear and stable option (to Dutch users). Changes must be implemented in two weeks. 100,000 euro fine per day if non compliant. Case brought fwd by @bitsoffreedom.bsky.social nos.nl/l/2584891

Public money is funding spyware! With 39 MEPs from 4 political groups, we are writing to the @ec.europa.eu to express deep concerns following @ftm.eu revelations that EU financed spyware companies! This must stop! We call on full transparency and follow up on the PEGA committee recommendations!

Hungary is handing its defence industry to a friendly telecoms company, tapping into EU funds. This isn’t a national issue but a European one: public money risks flowing straight into Orbán’s network. Brussels must act, or it will be the Union itself that gets hollowed out.

Hungary is selling a sizable slice of its #defence industry interests to.. a #telecoms company 😳 www.ftm.eu/articles/vik... @ftm.eu

Yep, that was me again

Europe’s public bank rocked by conflicts of interest and favouritism - yet again.. Our Brussels newsletter is out! @simonvandorpe.bsky.social www.ftm.eu/articles/bur...

En het is echt schandalig hoe te veel journalistieke opdrachtgevers zich misdragen. Heb ook te vaak dit soort wurgdeals onder mijn neus geschoven gekregen. Van omroepen die nota bene bestaan dankzij publiek geld.

In 2021, von der Leyen texted Pfizer’s CEO ahead of a multi-billion € vaccine deal. When @alexfanta.bsky.social asked to see the texts, the Commission refused. In episode #9 of the @ftm.eu podcast, we unpack #Pfizergate with @lise-witteman.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/f...

How to uncover fraud and corruption? Well, just #google it, antifraud watchdog OLAF seems to think! If only matters were that simple... Read our latest Crime & Corruption newsletter 👇 www.ftm.eu/articles/new...

Von der Leyen says "informed citizens who can trust what they read and hear are essential to keep those-in-power accountable", and that the press should remain free. You know what would help? A Commission that actually answers questions (on-record) and handles access to documents requests quicker.

One of the founders of the "Great Firewall" - blocking Chinese people from the truth - is now exporting his #censorship tech to regimes worldwide. With aid from EU firms. Todays story, in partnership with @papertrailmedia.de www.ftm.eu/articles/how...

EU hotshots have been trying to get special treatment when suspected of fraud.. A must read on the battle against the rot from within 👇

🔥 Laura Kövesi, the first European Chief Prosecutor, has locked horns with EU institutions and powerful political figures. Insiders question if her successor, whose appointment process is in full swing, will continue to crack the whip. ✅ Free to read today on @ftm.eu ⤵️ www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-...

On Monday @alistairkeepe.bsky.social asked why Commission President’s Signal messages were auto-deleted. Part of the answer: to save space. On Tuesday @alexfanta.bsky.social followed up: von der Leyen has a smartphone with lots of storage, so what gives? The question was skillfully sidestepped.

A European Commission spokeswoman said today, in 2025, that the automatic deletion of Signal messages is turned on "to save space".

Transparency rules in the spotlight amid questions over missing text messages

Find the full video of the Commission's response here: audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/media/vid...

News update - in today's midday briefing, the European Commission confirmed that von der Leyen's text messages are reviewed by her chief of staff, Björn Seibert, before deletion. No review by any one else, either within the Commission or independently.

The most powerful woman in Europe has set accountability on auto-delete 👇

NEWS Ursula von der Leyen has set text message exchanges to auto-delete 🙄 www.ftm.eu/articles/von...

2025 is a record-breaking year for claims filed by fossil fuel and mining firms against democratic policies. Read @ftm.eu's latest report www.ftm.eu/articles/fos...

🎙️ Episode #7 of the @ftm.eu podcast: After the @eppgroup.bsky.social claimed Brussels was secretly funding green lobbyists, @lise-witteman.bsky.social & Hans Wetzels uncovered a very different story. The EPP is scapegoating NGOs as it backpedals on the Green Deal. 🔗 www.ftm.eu/articles/pod...

My face says it all. One of the ugliest campaigns against democracy is being led by Ursula von der Leyen's European People's Party. Listen to our latest podcast to learn what the campaign against NGOs is really about. www.ftm.eu/articles/pod...

Holidays are over! With some great scoops in our new Brussels newsletter 👇

Bureau Brussels is back after a busy summer break! This week: Spanish far right fined for illegal donations, new special adviser on defense has little experience with defense and one of the world’s biggest equity firms, KKR, has deeper ties to Israel than previously thought.

‘Hoe vaker mensen geconfronteerd worden met de gevolgen van hun keuzes, hoe scherper die keuzes uiteindelijk worden.’ Jarl van der Ploeg in de #Volkskrant

The former president of the European Commission still holds office at his old headquarters, where he regularly receives prominent guests. According to the Kazakh government, he also offered help as go-between. Jean-Claude Juncker himself denies this, claiming that he is “immune” to influence.

Mark Rutte ging, toen hij nog premier was, in Brussel op bezoek bij toen al voormalig voorzitter van de Europese Commissie Juncker, volgens een lijst gasten die Juncker zelf produceerde. Waarom? Er zijn geen notulen van de bijeenkomst. De RVD houdt zich op de vlakte. www.ftm.nl/artikelen/ju...

Claude Juncker zit nog altijd in Brussel. Hij ontvangt diplomaten en lobbyisten en adviseert zijn opvolger, @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu . Wie hij ontvangt en wat hij bespreekt, maakt hij niet openbaar. Hij beweert immers 'immuun voor beïnvloeding' te zijn. Tuurlijk. www.ftm.nl/artikelen/ju...

When I asked the Commission how Juncker could have a five-year contract as special adviser (when the rules impose a two-year term limit) the Commission first quietly changed its website, and then told me the Juncker had always been working under two-year contracts. www.ftm.eu/articles/jun...

Für Axel-Springer-Chef Mathias Döpfner wird die Allianz mit US-Tech-Giganten wie Elon Musk und Mark Zuckerberg zusehends heikel. Beobachter fragen sich, ob und wie er da wieder rauskommt. Aber will Döpfner das überhaupt? Neuer Film von @zapp.ndr.de - sehenswert! www.ardmediathek.de/video/zapp/s...

Find the film, 20 minutes and we'll worth watching (though in German), here: www.ndr.de/fernsehen/se...

The CEO and co-owner of Politico's parent Axel Springer, Mathias Döpfner, has cultivated a "special relationship" with Big Tech for years. But has it paid off for the publishing giant? A doc by German public broadcasting (ht @wieneuland.bsky.social) took a look and interviewed Döpfner (and me).

We kinda make jokes about it, but what is former EU president Juncker actually still dóing in the office building of von der Leyen?? @peterteffer.bsky.social decided to find out 🧐 www.ftm.eu/articles/jun...

Why do they use so many Covid vaccins at the eurocrat hospital?? Watch the @schumanshow.eu sketch! youtu.be/hCHCkXrP4Pk?...

In 2021 ging @ftm.nl's Bureau Brussel van start met een onderzoek naar de 723 miljard van het coronaherstelfonds. In deze classic blikt @peterteffer.bsky.social terug hoe de samenwerking met journalisten uit meer dan 20 EU-lidstaten verliep! www.ftm.nl/artikelen/ft...

Let the press be free, but let's also: - reply "on background" even when they ask for an on-the-record comment; - take 122 working days (instead of the maximum 30) before replying to document requests; - refuse access and hope they don't appeal; - redact minutes that *are already public*.

US investment giant KKR has quietly bought up major European festivals. But our investigation reveals ties to controversial Israel-linked firms. As pressure mounts over Gaza, artists are pushing back. Hear more in our latest podcast.

If ordinary people would do this with requested evidence, sanctions would definitely follow... #Pfizergate

🧨 New revelation in the Pfizergate affair over Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen’s texts with the Pfizer CEO. The European Commission admitted to the New York Times this week that it lost the texts only after I made an official request for them. 🧵

Maybe this time the mainstream parties don't have to leave it to the far right to scrutinize the Commission? Especially for the @eppgroup.bsky.social, as transparency is so much on your mind lately with NGOs, what about this case?

The European Commission has admitted it lost texts between President Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla right after a journalist had asked to see them. The messages were about a multi-billion-euro Covid vaccine deal.

🔊 EU Commission admits it lost Pfizergate texts after (!) access request A doc that the Commission released to the NYT finally provides clarity on what happened áfter @alexfanta.bsky.social filed his request to access the texts between Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer 👇 www.ftm.eu/articles/pfi...

The saga of the Tate brothers, facing human trafficking charges in Romania, has made global headlines. But in Romania, the fate of trafficking victims is far less visible: fewer than 1% receive government compensation to rebuild their lives, while authorities lag far behind traffickers.

Russia has made €900B from fossil fuels since invading Ukraine – money fueling its war. To dodge sanctions, it built a “shadow fleet” of old tankers. Ep 3 of Follow the Money, The Podcast reveals how Western shipowners made $6B selling ships to this fleet.

Lekkere deal! 2 FTM boeken voor 30 euro

It's now official, the EU has reached a surrender deal with Trump. 🇪🇺President von der Leyen is trying to sell this as the “biggest trade deal ever”. But this is not a free trade deal. It is a package of concessions that were extorted from Europe by Trump’s threats.

Zie ook de aflevering van @medialogica.human.nl van afgelopen zondag. "Semantische discussie" ja ja npo.nl/start/serie/...

Groene lobby, grote ophef npo.nl/start/serie/...