Peter Teffer

De rijkste Nederlander is een man die zichzelf ‘de man die niet bestaat’ noemt. Jean-Louis van der Velde, grootaandeelhouder van cryptobedrijf Tether, is volgens de Quote 500 goed voor 26 miljard euro. Toch blijft hij zelf liever buiten beeld. Wij spraken hem wél. www.ftm.nl/artikelen/ni...

If you are going to InnoEnergy’s annual The Business Booster event tomorrow, you might be expecting to see EU commissioner Hoekstra in person - considering the announcements of InnoEnergy “welcoming” him. But it turns out he will only appear via a video link. www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

De EU heeft geen poot om op te staan als een regering na 2026 een of meerdere toezeggingen terugdraait. En dus kan Nederland zonder ‘budgettaire consequenties’ de belofte voor een CO2-heffing voor industrie terugdraaien. De geest van de wet is "niet juridisch afdwingbaar". www.ftm.nl/artikelen/ee...

Nederland wil een klimaatbelofte aan Brussel schrappen, maar wel de miljarden houden die het daarvoor kreeg. Het gaat om de CO2-belasting voor de industrie. Door die pas af te schaffen ná afloop van het coronaherstelfonds hoopt het kabinet te ontsnappen aan een boete van ruim 1 miljard.

This week in Bureau Brussels: - The Netherlands could backtrack on promises it made to secure EU funding - US private equity giant KKR could face a $195 million fine for allegedly misleading the Commission - A new era of robot-assisted transparency requests and responses could be on the horizon

Het kabinet wil definitief af van een klimaatmaatregel die werd ingevoerd in ruil voor geld uit het Europese coronaherstelfonds. Dus gebeurt het pas na de looptijd van het fonds. Ambtenaren erkennen dat dit ‘in strijd is met de geest’ van de afspraken met Brussel. www.ftm.nl/artikelen/ee...

The Netherlands plans to reverse a recovery fund (RRF) promise once the EU can no longer claw back money. A government spokesperson admitted the move could be seen as “against the spirit of the RRF”, but added that the “spirit of the RRF is not legally enforceable”. www.ftm.eu/articles/ref...

Kabinet verbreekt klimaatbelofte aan Brussel, maar stelt éérst de corona­miljarden veilig www.ftm.nl/artikelen/ee...

In five years, we’ve made a few enemies in Brussels. With our readers behind us, we’ll keep making more. Our members fund a third of our work. Help us keep digging for the next five years. 🔗🎈*Join today and get two free welcome gifts!: www.ftm.eu/subscribe *T&C's apply.

The EPP paid two consultants close to Greece’s ruling party over €570,000 in six months. Insiders questioned their value, and Parliament refused to cover the full bill. Now, EU prosecutors are investigating, putting the party and its leader, Manfred Weber, under fresh pressure.

In this week's @ftm.eu Bureau Brussels newsletter (below the launch of @alexfanta.bsky.social's FOI guide) a small update about the 200 companies still waiting to be paid their EU grant by the bankrupt EIT Manufacturing, and the refusal of the EIT to settle the bill. www.ftm.eu/newsletters/...

‘Ghost passengers’ are travelling aboard Russian ships that are transporting tanks and armored vehicles to Africa. FTM and its media partners discovered 28 mysterious individuals who are likely carrying forged documents. “It’s more than likely an intelligence operation.”

If only the EU Ethics Body had already been operational...

This week the Dutch company Qivalis announced "it has been granted authorisation as an Electronic Money Institution". Earlier this year I wrote about the consortium of big European banks that wants Qivalis to develop an interoperable stablecoin. www.ftm.eu/newsletters/...

While I am not a fan of media accepting sponsored content, the unintentional interplay between editorial and sponsored message in this Politico newsletter does deserve a chef's kiss.

Anonymous source sums up perfectly why every seven years the EU struggles to 'modernize' its budget. '“It’s easier to give up what you don’t yet have,” an EU diplomat said, referring to the new competitiveness fund.'

Vijf jaar geleden begon Follow the Money met onderzoeksjournalistiek in Brussel. Inmiddels is de redactie flink gegroeid en reiken de verhalen veel verder dan de Brusselse bubbel. Welke tegels hebben onze journalisten daar de afgelopen vijf jaar gelicht? Je hoort het in Frederique vraagt door.

What does it mean to be “financially independent”? In the European Union, apparently, it can mean receiving millions from the very institution you’re independent of. The EU has signed multi-million euro grant agreements with 2 of the 3 “financially independent” KICs. www.ftm.eu/newsletters/...

EU let member states rewrite targets after they had sought recovery-fund payment, auditors find

Vijf jaar geleden opende Follow the Money een kantoor in Brussel. Het plan was helder: uitzoeken waar Europees geld terechtkomt. Inmiddels zijn we talloze onthullingen, schandalen en rechtszaken verder. Waarom internationale onderzoeksjournalistiek meer nodig is dan ooit, lees je hier:

Five years ago, we set up in Brussels to hold European power to account. We've reported on missing billions, exposed hidden dealings that harm society, and have become a headache for the powerful. The threats and insults keep coming. So do our investigations.

“Five years ago, Follow the Money set up an investigative team in Brussels to scrutinise power in Europe. The sense of urgency we felt back then has only grown since. The world around us has changed dramatically. And so has our work.” www.ftm.eu/articles/5-y...

Autokilometers, treinkaartjes en vliegtickets richting Brussel worden niet altijd netjes gedeclareerd. Toch maakt het Europees Parlement het bijna onmogelijk om te controleren hoe volksvertegenwoordigers hun reiskostenvergoeding gebruiken. FTM kreeg de gegevens van slechts eentje te zien.

MEPs could spend €80 million on travel next year, yet taxpayers can barely scrutinise the bill. After Nathan Gill was jailed for taking pro-Russian bribes, the European Parliament gave us a rare look into his expense records.

MEP Nathan Gill (UKIP) was absent more often than not in the Committee on Development, and in September 2016 only arrived in Strasbourg on the last day. Parliament deducted half his daily allowance that week because Gill had spent “less than 4 hours in the place of work”. www.ftm.eu/articles/a-r...

UKIP voters have never been able to check how often an elected representative in Brussels showed up for work or how much travel expenses they claimed. Until now. But only because the ex-member in question, Nathan Gill... is in jail. www.ftm.eu/articles/a-r...

The European Parliament has allowed me to review how a former elected representatives has spent public money on travel expenses... ...but only because that MEP is in jail for accepting pro-Russian bribes. www.ftm.eu/articles/a-r...

Het Europees Parlement wil normaal geen inzage geven in de reiskostendeclaraties van parlementariërs. Maar wel nu ik vroeg om informatie over het Britse oud-parlementslid Nathan Gill. De reden: Gill is een veroordeelde crimineel. www.ftm.nl/artikelen/we...

"Avoiding questions doesn’t protect Europe. It fuels distrust and polarisation, handing ammunition to those seeking to undermine the Union."

Citizens and businesses have one more day to reply to the EU call for feedback on what the future of the EIT and the KICs should look like. If you are considering to reply, please take a few minutes to read my article about how these organisations operate. www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-...

Also in this week's newsletter: InnoEnergy’s CEO Sébastien Clerc steps down a mere eight months after taking the role, “to pursue other professional opportunities”. In those eight months, @ftm.eu published several articles about the EU-funded investor, including about a fraud investigation.

“It is we who decide our rules, not Big Tech,” said Commission president von der Leyen, announcing new restrictions on social media use by children. What she didn’t mention was that some of the experts on a panel advising her have, or previously had, ties to Big Tech. www.ftm.eu/articles/exp...

What a low blow by the European Commission, naming only the @ombudsman.europa.eu as the reason for why the access to documents procedure may take up to two years. What about the Commission's own regular failure to reply within six weeks? Or the Commission's common missing of Ombudsman deadlines?

How can I make the #SOTEU about @ftm.eu: Von der Leyen spoke about simplification of red tape, claiming her efforts reduced the administrative burden of €17bn. But her promises to cut back red tape are nothing new. www.ftm.eu/articles/why...

“Ook in Europa maakt Nederland zich sterk voor een verschuiving van geld voor de oude economie naar meer geld voor innovatie en technologische vernieuwing,” aldus de koning in de troonrede. Hopelijk let Nederland dan ook op hóe dat geld wordt verdeeld. www.ftm.nl/artikelen/do...

🔥 @ftm.eu's crime and corruption newsletter is back today, with: ✅ The party politics behind the EU’s foreign policy power struggle ✅ Why a clash between two EU watchdogs is heading to Europe’s top court And much much more, read it on our website or subscribe: www.ftm.eu/articles/the...

In case you missed it yesterday: Booze, bonuses, and wasted money plague EU’s €6bn bet on innovation www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-...

€6bn to help solve Europe’s biggest challenges. Inside the organisations trusted with that money, FTM found business-class upgrades on short flights, free-flowing alcohol at staff events, and up to 200 employees flown in for lavish gatherings. One insider called it “burning money”.

Ruim 200 euro aan alcohol tikte de directeur van EIT RawMaterials af na een dinertje – met de bedrijfscreditcard. Hij schendt daarmee niet alleen de regels van zijn bedrijf, maar verbrast ook geld van Nederlandse universiteiten. Deze innovatie-aanjager is niet de enige die belastinggeld ‘verbrandt’.

Sinds 2010 heeft de EU 6 miljard euro laten besteden door tien private organisaties om innovatie aan te jagen. Oud-werknemers zeggen dat er belastinggeld is verspild. ‘Ze waren gewoon geld aan het verbranden.’ www.ftm.nl/artikelen/do...

Misuse of public funds, possible conflicts of interest, oversight failures, potential fraud. “There is a clear need for an overhaul of the ethics rules guiding the operation of KICs,” said @kennethhaar.bsky.social democracy campaigner at the watchdog @corporateeurope.org. www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-...

De Amsterdamse wethouder Van der Horst zegde het lidmaatschap op van EIT Urban Mobility, dat innovatie in Europa had moeten aanjagen. Een woordvoerder: ‘De rommelige en onduidelijke governancestructuur zorgde er voor dat de samenwerking meer kostte dan opleverde.’ www.ftm.nl/artikelen/do...

“I am 100% convinced they are wasting taxpayer money,” one source told me about the little-known Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), which have received billions in EU money. www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-...

EIT Food, waar prinses Viktória de Bourbon de Parme directielid is, kreeg enkele honderden miljoenen van de EU. Oud-werknemers beschreven de situatie als ‘chaos’. ‘Het geld is bedoeld om innovatie te financieren, maar hun prioriteit was om de eigen kosten te dekken.' www.ftm.nl/artikelen/do...

EIT RawMaterials CEO Schäfer claimed a total of €85,000 in expenses in 2025, according to an insider. On at least two occasions last year, the CEO spent more than €200 on alcoholic drinks. www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-...

The EU’s flagship innovation network has received billions of euros to develop solutions to major societal challenges. But after speaking over two dozen sources I found evidence of wasteful spending, weak governance, and potential conflicts of interest. www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-...

By Toutatis, this week's @ftm.eu newsletter has its first-ever mention of Asterix. And yes, obviously it is because of an item about bureaucracy and access to documents. www.ftm.eu/newsletters/...

The road to Commission 2.0: DGs shake-up, fewer turf wars, better careers