Welcome to the newsletter of Follow the Money’s EU desk, with insights from our EU specialists, news from the Brussels bubble, and the latest on our investigations!

This week: Brussels is giving European carmakers more leeway on CO2 targets, secret Council meetings are still not possible five years after Covid, and the Commission’s €800 billion defense plan not involving spending a cent feels all too similar.

Story of the week

Europe’s car lobby is still in the driver’s seat

The European car lobby has struck again. Following a cry for help, the European Commission last week announced an action plan to help Europe’s carmakers compete on the global stage. 

The plan includes delaying checks on whether car companies comply with the CO2 targets until after 2027 – instead of after this year. The European Commission had informed the automotive industry in 2017 that these targets were “for your competitiveness, for your future.” But now, Commission president Ursula von der Leyen sings a different tune, listening to the demand “for more pragmatism in these difficult times.” It means any penalties are also delayed.

“The car industry is still a power bloc in Europe that can dictate what it wants by calling government leaders,” an expert on car emissions and air quality told Follow the Money last week (read the interview in Dutch here.)

That expert, Norbert Ligterink, spent years working for the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), participating in EU expert groups where he faced off against the infamous car lobby. He saw firsthand how the 2015 Dieselgate scandal changed nothing in such expert meetings. “It was business as usual,” he said. 

Ligterink was also involved in the discussions on the new Euro 7 rules, which set limits on how much cars can emit gases that are harmful to the environment and health (unlike CO2, which is harmful to the climate). Relentless lobbying successfully watered it down.

“The industry acted like these were very strict requirements, which was not the case. They used the same tactics as always, like holding a survey among car manufacturers with the question: how much do you think Euro 7 is going to cost you? Well, just say a high number! That was then presented as scientific evidence and even accepted. It was one thing for the car industry to do that, but then for Member States to accept that…”

News from the EU bubble

No secret Council video meetings – five years after Covid

When EU diplomats want to discuss secret matters in the Council of the European Union, they have to do it in person. Five years after the Covid pandemic began, efforts to install a secure system for secret conversations are still “underway”, an EU official told Follow the Money.

The secure video link was first proposed in September 2020. At the time, frustration was mounting in Brussels over security breaches – like when a Dutch journalist gatecrashed a meeting of EU defence ministers after guessing a confidential access code. While Council president Charles can hold secret meetings with the US president, he still can’t do so with EU leaders, a public note written by Council officials complained. They set aside a budget of €2.4 million to create the secure video system, which was supposed to launch by mid-2022.

Yet, years later, the system is still not operational. A document distributed to EU member states late last year – to which the Council has declined access – suggests that deployment has begun. But when can the first secret meetings actually be held online? The Council declined to comment.

Alexander Fanta

€800 billion for defense – without spending a cent

The European Commission’s plan presented last week to raise €800 billion for defense in the next few years without actually pulling out the wallet strongly reminded us of something…

Time and time again, EU member states task ‘Brussels’ to come up with solutions to the major challenges facing Europe – without putting up extra cash. And time and time again, Commission president Ursula von der Leyen resorts to bold announcements that amount to old wine in new bottles.

We saw it with the plans to cut dependence on Russian gas (€300 billion), to compete with China in Africa and in the rest of the world (€300 billion), and to ramp up microchip production in Europe (€45 billion).

And now, ‘Brussels’ is at it again with the “RearmEurope” initiative. We see what you’re doing there, von der Leyen!

Jesse Pinster and Lise Witteman

Spanish far-right party under scrutiny for Hungarian loan

Spain’s Anti-Corruption Prosecutor has launched an investigation into the far-right party VOX following a complaint from the Socialist Party. The party is accused of illegal financing and has been asked to clarify the origin of over 4 million euros. 

The investigation examines the party’s donation record and its potential violations of Spanish law following a loan of 6 million from Hungary’s MBH Bank. The Hungarian opposition has labelled the bank as ‘Orban’s wallet’, as the government is its primary shareholder. However, according to VOX, all accusations are a strategy to discredit the party.

Lisanne van Vucht

Our latest investigations

Europe’s most wanted drug lord is partying with Sierra Leone’s top officials

Jos Leijdekkers, one of Europe’s most wanted criminals, should be behind bars. Instead, he’s partying with Sierra Leone’s elite. His ties to the West African country’s leadership are now so strong that European authorities struggle to bring him home, our investigation shows.

Read the investigation here.

The opaque lobby of high-ranking Israeli officers in Brussels

Without proper accreditation, a group of Israeli military officers spent a year quietly lobbying in the European Parliament, pushing their hardline stance on Gaza. They even hosted a conference. Who let them in?

Read the full investigation here.