In a bit, the EPP is expected to team up with the far right to get rid of legislation that holds companies accountable for human rights & environmental abuses. This is not new. Weber's promise to sideline extremists has been eroding for a year now as @alistairkeepe.bsky.social and I showed.

Last year, @alexfanta.bsky.social and I started collecting data on a decade of meetings between Google and the European Commission. Today, Alex shows how Google influenced people in Brussels to dominate the scene.

On the “defeat” of the far right in the Netherlands 🇳🇱 The total number of far-right seats in the Tweede Kamer: 2021: 28 2023: 41 2025: 42 👈 And I don’t even count BBB here, which has radicalized significantly in the last year.

The battle between Spain’s Court of Auditors and the far-right party Vox shows no sign of cooling down. Documents obtained by Follow the Money and infoLibre reveal that Vox has escaped two additional sanctions, again over illegal donations.

Today's @eurcorrespond.bsky.social highlighted the joint investigation by @infolibre.es & @ftm.eu ‘Money to the Far Right,’ raising the question: why did Spain’s Vox pay over €1 million in interest to an Orbán-linked bank when far cheaper domestic options were available?

🚨 Scoop: Spain’s far-right party Vox has been fined a record €1.15 million for illegal donations. Joint investigation by @ftm.eu and @infolibre.es 👇 read here

La oscura financiación de Vox, el partido español que más crédito recibe gracias al banco controlado por Orbán Un tema de Sergio Sangiao ow.ly/Fnpv50WJORe

El banco húngaro que controla Orbán y financia a Vox sufraga a la extrema derecha por toda Europa Un tema de Sergio Sangiao ow.ly/gyum50WJ3GK

An entire news crew working for Al Jazeera was killed by Israel as they sought to bring the world firsthand reporting from #Gaza. Among them was prominent journalist Anas Al-Sharif, who had been previously smeared and threatened by the IDF. #NotATarget Full statement: cpj.org/2025/08/isra...

‼️ In March, Huawei’s EU corruption scandal made headlines across the world. Today, @ftm.eu returns with an insiders’ perspective: ten former employees shared their experience with the tech giant’s Brussels office … and its rogue lobbyist. Read the full story for free today www.ftm.eu/articles/hua...

🇸🇮 Standing ovation in the European Parliament for the visiting Slovenian president Nataša Pirc Musar: “We are witnessing a genocide in the West Bank and still we remain quiet.”

In 2023, before the EU elections, eight institutions reached an agreement to establish an independent watchdog. The EP was one of them. But as majorities have shifted in favour of the (centre) right, so has the appetite for more transparency. Read all about it, and more 📌 www.ftm.eu/newsletters/...

KAMPIOENEN!!!! 🤍❤️

To sum up - this is an important win for transparency, and makes clear that the EU institutions have to be a lot more accountable in how they handle access requests. Simply saying that texts aren't documents, and therefore they won't even look for them, is a no fly in the future.

Today's Pfizergate ruling is a landmark. The EU court clearly said that the Commission was wrong in its decision on the text messages between president Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. The decision can't be read other than as stern rebuke for the Commission. Some key takeaways 🧵

BREAKING - Pfizergate ruling sees win for transparency - Judges rule that the Commission should not have misled @matinastevis.bsky.social about the existence of Ursula von der Leyen's text messages. More details forthcoming.

Hoe André Rieu en Emile Roemer samen in Brussel bij Ursula von der Leyen lobbyden voor een miljoenensubsidie #delimburger #regio

'Je kunt helemaal onderaan bij de klerk beginnen, maar ook meteen bovenaan bij iemand die alles weet. Dat hebben we gedaan', aldus Rieu's zoon en tevens zaakwaarnemer 🇪🇺

Samen met @delimburger.bsky.social

Brussel een ver van je bed show? Lees dit heerlijke Limburgse lobbyverhaal van @lisannevanvucht.bsky.social Feat. Emile Roemer, André Rieu en Ursula von der Leyen - Limburgse vlaai, een kleedkameronderonsje en de machtigste bedrijfslobby van Europa 👇 www.ftm.nl/artikelen/lo...

People still believe that we can somehow satisfy the populist policy demands and then people will return to liberal democratic politics as usual. It's an illusion. Giving authoritarians what they want means they will ask for more. This is not only true for Putin, but domestic authoritarians as well

Meanwhile on X, I'm offered fake news of a handcuffed Belgian PM @bartdewever.bsky.social, supposedly published in @lesoir.be (promoted content). What is preventing @ec.europa.eu and EU countries from taking this dangerous platform offline until it gets its problems sorted?

Everyone knows Monaco is a haven for the ultra-rich, but it may also be a safe harbour for Russian dirty money. The principality is allegedly letting sanctioned Russian businessmen launder illicit gains. Despite formal complaints and clear money trails, authorities seem to be looking the other way.

📢New @jeppjournal.bsky.social publication w/ @elskevdhoogen.bsky.social & @claesdevreese.bsky.social studying “The role of far-right party performance in shaping disinformation concerns of European voters” in the #EP2024 elections using @eesresearch.bsky.social data 🧵 tinyurl.com/bdzn8jw3

The UK and EU want a security pact – but fish might ruin the deal. As Brussels and London prepare for a post-Brexit reset, old tensions over fishing rights resurface. FTM reveals the hidden power plays behind this geopolitical standoff.

EU foreign ministers have been sharing official communication in a private Signal group chat. For the first time, Brussels admits these messages exist – but still refuses to release them, despite transparency laws. What are they hiding?

Very happy to be able to contribute two images to one of EU Commission President Von der Leyen’s rare interviews with German media - in this case with @zeit.de. The interview was conducted by @derbernd.bsky.social and @ladurneru.bsky.social. Thanks go out to Andreas Prost for thinking of my work.

This morning, journalists from across Europe went public with a call to the European Commission to keep the promise of the EU treaties, and actually stick to the bloc's freedom of information law. See below Politico's Brussels Playbook: www.politico.eu/newsletter/b...

The Israeli entrepreneur Shalev Hulio gained notoriety for designing Pegasus, the spyware used by governments to hack journalists and dissidents. Today, he is selling a new AI cyber security tool to European states and corporations. His secret asset? Austria’s former leader Sebastian Kurz. [Thread]

Eindelijk!

Don’t fall for Orbán’s scandalous behavior. His regime has ignored the Court’s values for years. More than this, he has inpoverished Hungarians to the bone. Every circus act of this man is just an attempt to shift the attention, away from his disastrous economic policies to another diplomatic riot.

🆕 Leaked document details alleged #huaweigate bribery scheme: Lobbyists for Huawei are accused of having funneled tens of thousands of euros to MEPs who supported a letter in favour of the Chinese tech giant www.ftm.eu/articles/hua...

1) The EPP's position on establishing an independent ethics to prevent future #Huawei-Gate is clear: "The EPP opposed the establishment of the ethics body in the last term, and its stance remains unchanged." (Committee meeting Constitutional Affairs)

✔️ The 4 are suspected of being part of a criminal organisation and of "active corruption", which means bribing someone, as opposed to being bribed (passive). ✔️ A judge confirmed their detention for up to 1 more month today ✔️ A 5th person, suspected of money laundering, was released under conditions

HuaweiGate update: Five people have been charged in the corruption probe into Huawei lobbyists. Four suspects remain in custody as police search for evidence that representatives of the Chinese tech giant broke the law when lobbying MEPs. #HuaweiGate

Von der Leyen kept a critical letter on Israel policy secret for a year, a follow-up on the Huawei corruption scandal we broke last week, and the upcoming European Parliament debate on the EU ethics body – which now seems more relevant than ever. The @ftm.eu newsletter

This juicy behind the scenes reconstruction story by @alexfanta.bsky.social, @simonvandorpe.bsky.social @lisannevanvucht.bsky.social & @sieboom.bsky.social tells in great detail how Huawei tried to penetrate Brussels over the last few years, and the friends it has made.. www.ftm.eu/articles/how...

UPDATE: Searches in the European Parliament. 🚨 Next week on Wednesday there will be a debate on establishing an independent ethics body. This could play a key role in preventing future hashtag #HuaweiGate's. Let's see which MEPs vote for more transparency 👀 @ftm.eu www.ftm.eu/articles/hua...

Breaking and groundbreaking: toponderzoek van @ftm.eu, met dank aan graafwerk van @simonvandorpe.bsky.social, @alexfanta.bsky.social en @lisannevanvucht.bsky.social

"The dawn raids were part of a covert police investigation that started about two years ago after a tip-off from the Belgian secret service" - again?

BREAKING: De Belgische politie viel vanochtend binnen bij woningen van Huawei-lobbyisten in een grootschalig corruptieonderzoek. Zij zouden Europarlementariërs hebben omgekocht om Huawei’s belangen te behartigen. In totaal werden 21 adressen doorzocht. #HuaweiGate

💣 🚨 NEW EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT CORRUPTION SCANDAL: On Thursday, Belgian police raided the homes of Huawei's lobbyists. Read our reconstruction of the story here: www.ftm.eu/articles/how...

🚨 NIEUW CORRUPTIESCHANDAAL: Vanmorgen zijn op meerdere adressen huiszoekingen gedaan door de Belgische politie. Lees hier onze reconstructie: www.ftm.nl/artikelen/ho...

💣 🚨 BREAKING: Grootschalig corruptieonderzoek naar het Chinese bedrijf Huawei. Europarlementariërs zouden steekpenningen hebben aangenomen. www.ftm.nl/artikelen/hu...

In de giftige razernij van het wereldtoneel, rest of redt ons het absurdisme, www.volkskrant.nl/columns-opin...