Lise Witteman
@lise-witteman.bsky.social
Journalist. Heading @FTM.eu;
Co-founder The Schuman Show;
Who's watching Brussels https://tinyurl.com/4waujjhh (EN) / https://tinyurl.com/3hb32drd (NL)
Co-founder The Schuman Show;
Who's watching Brussels https://tinyurl.com/4waujjhh (EN) / https://tinyurl.com/3hb32drd (NL)
Top officials at NATO’s procurement agency this year accused its chief of favouritism, failing to investigate corruption, and undue interference in their work, leaked internal reports reveal..
www.ftm.eu/articles/nat...
www.ftm.eu/articles/nat...
NATO’s procurement chief under fire amid corruption scandal, leak reveals
The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) is mired in a corruption scandal, and top officials have raised concerns about its approach to tackling graft. Internal documents reveal how General Mana...
www.ftm.eu
November 21, 2025 at 6:14 AM
Top officials at NATO’s procurement agency this year accused its chief of favouritism, failing to investigate corruption, and undue interference in their work, leaked internal reports reveal..
www.ftm.eu/articles/nat...
www.ftm.eu/articles/nat...
Reposted by Lise Witteman
🇪🇺📬What’s happening in this week’s Bureau Brussels?
Diplomats face the music over a secret Signal groupchat, Serbia and the Balkan’s press freedom is on its last legs while the Commission appears unbothered despite ongoing risks of secrets leaking to China through notified bodies.
Latest edition👇
Diplomats face the music over a secret Signal groupchat, Serbia and the Balkan’s press freedom is on its last legs while the Commission appears unbothered despite ongoing risks of secrets leaking to China through notified bodies.
Latest edition👇
Newsletter | Encrypted diplomacy: Kallas to answer for secret Signal group
Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalism
www.ftm.eu
November 17, 2025 at 6:16 AM
🇪🇺📬What’s happening in this week’s Bureau Brussels?
Diplomats face the music over a secret Signal groupchat, Serbia and the Balkan’s press freedom is on its last legs while the Commission appears unbothered despite ongoing risks of secrets leaking to China through notified bodies.
Latest edition👇
Diplomats face the music over a secret Signal groupchat, Serbia and the Balkan’s press freedom is on its last legs while the Commission appears unbothered despite ongoing risks of secrets leaking to China through notified bodies.
Latest edition👇
Weber off the hook
ftm.eu/articles/eu-prosecutors-drop-investigation-epp-manfred-weber
ftm.eu/articles/eu-prosecutors-drop-investigation-epp-manfred-weber
EU prosecutors dismiss probe into chief of Europe's most powerful party
Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalism
ftm.eu
November 13, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Weber off the hook
ftm.eu/articles/eu-prosecutors-drop-investigation-epp-manfred-weber
ftm.eu/articles/eu-prosecutors-drop-investigation-epp-manfred-weber
Reposted by Lise Witteman
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.
Christian Democrats break election promise to sideline far right in European Parliament
The European Parliament’s biggest party, the European People’s Party, promised not to cooperate with certain far-right groups. A Follow the Money analysis shows how the Christian Democrats, led by Urs...
www.ftm.eu
November 13, 2025 at 10:12 AM
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.
Reposted by Lise Witteman
🚨📱Under the EU’s DSA, X must report user-safety risks. Yet the platform hid data about child abuse and terrorism and now Brussels is helping to keep its reports confidential.
An EU watchdog is calling the Commission out for shielding the platform.
Read our update: www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-...
An EU watchdog is calling the Commission out for shielding the platform.
Read our update: www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-...
November 4, 2025 at 11:44 AM
🚨📱Under the EU’s DSA, X must report user-safety risks. Yet the platform hid data about child abuse and terrorism and now Brussels is helping to keep its reports confidential.
An EU watchdog is calling the Commission out for shielding the platform.
Read our update: www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-...
An EU watchdog is calling the Commission out for shielding the platform.
Read our update: www.ftm.eu/articles/eu-...
Reposted by Lise Witteman
How Google won friends and influenced people - while slowly gobbling up a quarter of all ad revenue on the internet.
Here's my look at two decades of Google’s ruthless tactics to secure its dominance.
www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
Here's my look at two decades of Google’s ruthless tactics to secure its dominance.
www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
How Google fooled Brussels: the tech giant’s playbook exposed
Regulators in the U.S. and the EU are closing on tech giant Google in an attempt to break up its dominance over the internet. An investigation by Follow the Money reveals how Google has persuaded lawm...
www.ftm.eu
November 3, 2025 at 6:07 AM
How Google won friends and influenced people - while slowly gobbling up a quarter of all ad revenue on the internet.
Here's my look at two decades of Google’s ruthless tactics to secure its dominance.
www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
Here's my look at two decades of Google’s ruthless tactics to secure its dominance.
www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
Reposted by Lise Witteman
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.
Google, the world’s largest search engine operating three in four smartphones, has played Brussels like a fiddle – shaping laws, silencing rivals, and calling it "innovation". The chart shows how Big Tech bankrolls Brussels’ top think tanks.
Read our latest story here: www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
Read our latest story here: www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
November 3, 2025 at 8:19 AM
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.
Reposted by Lise Witteman
Google, the world’s largest search engine operating three in four smartphones, has played Brussels like a fiddle – shaping laws, silencing rivals, and calling it "innovation". The chart shows how Big Tech bankrolls Brussels’ top think tanks.
Read our latest story here: www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
Read our latest story here: www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
November 3, 2025 at 7:18 AM
Google, the world’s largest search engine operating three in four smartphones, has played Brussels like a fiddle – shaping laws, silencing rivals, and calling it "innovation". The chart shows how Big Tech bankrolls Brussels’ top think tanks.
Read our latest story here: www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
Read our latest story here: www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
October 23, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Reposted by Lise Witteman
🎙️New podcast: As Europe ramps up defence spending, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán has handed his country’s defence industry to a trusted ally. Journalist Jesse Pinster uncovers how EU funds and state assets are funnelled into Orbán’s inner circle – and why Brussels seems powerless to stop it.
Listen now 👇
Listen now 👇
Podcast | How Orbán funnels Hungary’s assets to his allies
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has handed over his country’s defence industry to one of his business allies – just as Europe is pouring billions into military spending. Journalist Jesse Pinster...
www.ftm.eu
October 22, 2025 at 6:44 AM
🎙️New podcast: As Europe ramps up defence spending, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán has handed his country’s defence industry to a trusted ally. Journalist Jesse Pinster uncovers how EU funds and state assets are funnelled into Orbán’s inner circle – and why Brussels seems powerless to stop it.
Listen now 👇
Listen now 👇
Reposted by Lise Witteman
🔥This week, all eyes on #Natogate – our special Crime & Corruption edition breaks down the scandal with exclusive NATO details, plus fresh stories from Sarkozy’s sentence to EU VAT fraud and the ECB union clash.
🔗 Read & subscribe to keep corruption in check: www.ftm.eu/newsletters/...
🔗 Read & subscribe to keep corruption in check: www.ftm.eu/newsletters/...
#Natogate: scandal, fallout, reckoning?
Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalism
www.ftm.eu
October 22, 2025 at 8:32 AM
🔥This week, all eyes on #Natogate – our special Crime & Corruption edition breaks down the scandal with exclusive NATO details, plus fresh stories from Sarkozy’s sentence to EU VAT fraud and the ECB union clash.
🔗 Read & subscribe to keep corruption in check: www.ftm.eu/newsletters/...
🔗 Read & subscribe to keep corruption in check: www.ftm.eu/newsletters/...
Reposted by Lise Witteman
🏆 We’re honoured to receive the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism 2025 for our cross-border investigation The Shadow Fleet Secrets.
Read the investigation here: www.ftm.eu/files/the-sh...
Read the investigation here: www.ftm.eu/files/the-sh...
October 21, 2025 at 6:38 PM
🏆 We’re honoured to receive the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism 2025 for our cross-border investigation The Shadow Fleet Secrets.
Read the investigation here: www.ftm.eu/files/the-sh...
Read the investigation here: www.ftm.eu/files/the-sh...
Reposted by Lise Witteman
📢 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆, 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗻 #𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲 – a two-part investigation into how NATO insiders, defence consultants and a Turkish arms magnate got tangled in a €2 million corruption web from Brussels to Washington.
Read part 1, Washington’s Silence: www.ftm.eu/articles/us-...
Read part 1, Washington’s Silence: www.ftm.eu/articles/us-...
October 20, 2025 at 7:57 AM
📢 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆, 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗻 #𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲 – a two-part investigation into how NATO insiders, defence consultants and a Turkish arms magnate got tangled in a €2 million corruption web from Brussels to Washington.
Read part 1, Washington’s Silence: www.ftm.eu/articles/us-...
Read part 1, Washington’s Silence: www.ftm.eu/articles/us-...
Reposted by Lise Witteman
Uitgerekend nu onze defensie-uitgaven explosief stijgen, wordt het NAVO-aankoopagentschap NSPA getroffen door liefst drie corruptieschandalen.
Dat blijkt uit #NATOgate, een onderzoek van @knack.be
@lalettre.bsky.social @ftm.eu @lesoir.be
Dat blijkt uit #NATOgate, een onderzoek van @knack.be
@lalettre.bsky.social @ftm.eu @lesoir.be
October 20, 2025 at 5:17 AM
Uitgerekend nu onze defensie-uitgaven explosief stijgen, wordt het NAVO-aankoopagentschap NSPA getroffen door liefst drie corruptieschandalen.
Dat blijkt uit #NATOgate, een onderzoek van @knack.be
@lalettre.bsky.social @ftm.eu @lesoir.be
Dat blijkt uit #NATOgate, een onderzoek van @knack.be
@lalettre.bsky.social @ftm.eu @lesoir.be
Reposted by Lise Witteman
Three suspects (incl the CEO of a big Turkish arms company), involved in major bribery cases related to NATO, were about to be extradited from European jails to the U.S.
But then something happened…
Read our @ftm.eu investigation together with @lesoir.be @knack.be and La Lettre.
#NatoGate
But then something happened…
Read our @ftm.eu investigation together with @lesoir.be @knack.be and La Lettre.
#NatoGate
U.S. pulls plug on major NATO corruption probes – top suspects walk free
A NATO corruption scandal made international headlines when several suspects were arrested across Europe in May. Several months later, the U.S. dropped charges against four of them – including a Turki...
www.ftm.eu
October 20, 2025 at 4:48 AM
Three suspects (incl the CEO of a big Turkish arms company), involved in major bribery cases related to NATO, were about to be extradited from European jails to the U.S.
But then something happened…
Read our @ftm.eu investigation together with @lesoir.be @knack.be and La Lettre.
#NatoGate
But then something happened…
Read our @ftm.eu investigation together with @lesoir.be @knack.be and La Lettre.
#NatoGate
#NATOGATE Trump Pulls Plug On Major NATO Corruption Probes – Top Suspects Walk Free
#investigation by @simonvandorpe.bsky.social and @jesse-pinster.bsky.social @ftm.eu, together with media partners @lalettre.bsky.social, @lesoir.be, @knack.be and others
💥 www.ftm.eu/articles/us-...
#investigation by @simonvandorpe.bsky.social and @jesse-pinster.bsky.social @ftm.eu, together with media partners @lalettre.bsky.social, @lesoir.be, @knack.be and others
💥 www.ftm.eu/articles/us-...
October 20, 2025 at 4:37 AM
#NATOGATE Trump Pulls Plug On Major NATO Corruption Probes – Top Suspects Walk Free
#investigation by @simonvandorpe.bsky.social and @jesse-pinster.bsky.social @ftm.eu, together with media partners @lalettre.bsky.social, @lesoir.be, @knack.be and others
💥 www.ftm.eu/articles/us-...
#investigation by @simonvandorpe.bsky.social and @jesse-pinster.bsky.social @ftm.eu, together with media partners @lalettre.bsky.social, @lesoir.be, @knack.be and others
💥 www.ftm.eu/articles/us-...
In a shock U-turn, Chad has reversed its decision to expel the wildlife charity African Parks over alleged fraud and mismanagement.
A threat by the EU to withhold aid from the Central African nation was a decisive factor, @ftm.eu's @oli4vb.bsky.social can reveal
www.ftm.eu/articles/cha...
A threat by the EU to withhold aid from the Central African nation was a decisive factor, @ftm.eu's @oli4vb.bsky.social can reveal
www.ftm.eu/articles/cha...
Under EU pressure, Chad reverses expulsion of conservation NGO
In a shock U-turn, Chad has reversed its decision to expel the wildlife charity African Parks over alleged fraud and mismanagement. A threat by the EU to withhold aid from the Central African nation ...
www.ftm.eu
October 18, 2025 at 6:35 AM
In a shock U-turn, Chad has reversed its decision to expel the wildlife charity African Parks over alleged fraud and mismanagement.
A threat by the EU to withhold aid from the Central African nation was a decisive factor, @ftm.eu's @oli4vb.bsky.social can reveal
www.ftm.eu/articles/cha...
A threat by the EU to withhold aid from the Central African nation was a decisive factor, @ftm.eu's @oli4vb.bsky.social can reveal
www.ftm.eu/articles/cha...
Reposted by Lise Witteman
Following @greens-efa.eu request in response to revelations from @ftm.eu & @apache.be, LIBE committee @europarl.europa.eu will hold a debate about EU funding to Israeli #spyware companies.
We call on full transparency and follow up on the PEGA committee recommendations.
More info about date soon.
We call on full transparency and follow up on the PEGA committee recommendations.
More info about date soon.
October 16, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Following @greens-efa.eu request in response to revelations from @ftm.eu & @apache.be, LIBE committee @europarl.europa.eu will hold a debate about EU funding to Israeli #spyware companies.
We call on full transparency and follow up on the PEGA committee recommendations.
More info about date soon.
We call on full transparency and follow up on the PEGA committee recommendations.
More info about date soon.
Reposted by Lise Witteman
🇪🇺💰 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐔 𝐚𝐢𝐝. 𝐀 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐠𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐀 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐨.
What began as a conservation project to protect Virunga National Park became a story of conflict, broken promises – and Bitcoin mining in the rainforest.
🎙️ Journalist Olivier van Beemen investigates 👇
www.ftm.eu/articles/pod...
What began as a conservation project to protect Virunga National Park became a story of conflict, broken promises – and Bitcoin mining in the rainforest.
🎙️ Journalist Olivier van Beemen investigates 👇
www.ftm.eu/articles/pod...
Podcast | A Belgian prince’s parade in Congo
A Belgian prince is running a conservation project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, – financed by millions in European aid. Journalist Olivier van Beemen reveals how more than 150 million euros i...
www.ftm.eu
October 15, 2025 at 6:32 AM
🇪🇺💰 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐔 𝐚𝐢𝐝. 𝐀 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐠𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐀 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐨.
What began as a conservation project to protect Virunga National Park became a story of conflict, broken promises – and Bitcoin mining in the rainforest.
🎙️ Journalist Olivier van Beemen investigates 👇
www.ftm.eu/articles/pod...
What began as a conservation project to protect Virunga National Park became a story of conflict, broken promises – and Bitcoin mining in the rainforest.
🎙️ Journalist Olivier van Beemen investigates 👇
www.ftm.eu/articles/pod...
Reposted by Lise Witteman
🇷🇸📺In a Dutch courtroom, Serbia’s last independent channel fights for survival as President Vučić’s grip tightens in an EU-candidate state edging toward Russia – a defeat that would weaken Europe’s influence and damage its democratic credibility.
Read why it matters for Europe 👇
Read why it matters for Europe 👇
One Amsterdam court could decide on the future of Serbia’s free press
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is trying to muzzle the country’s last independent news channel. A management crisis at the outlet’s parent company appears to be helping him, but a Dutch court coul...
www.ftm.eu
October 16, 2025 at 7:46 AM
🇷🇸📺In a Dutch courtroom, Serbia’s last independent channel fights for survival as President Vučić’s grip tightens in an EU-candidate state edging toward Russia – a defeat that would weaken Europe’s influence and damage its democratic credibility.
Read why it matters for Europe 👇
Read why it matters for Europe 👇
The worldwide #alcohol lobby went full TOBACCO on a small 🇪🇺 country to keep this basic info from your bottle:
🍺 alcohol causes liver disease
🍻 there is a direct link with cancer
Even the 🇺🇸 government weight in to help Big Booze out...
Read our latest story 👇
www.ftm.eu/articles/alc...
🍺 alcohol causes liver disease
🍻 there is a direct link with cancer
Even the 🇺🇸 government weight in to help Big Booze out...
Read our latest story 👇
www.ftm.eu/articles/alc...
This is the warning Big Alcohol wants to keep off your bottles of beer
Ireland was set to become the first EU country to put cancer warning labels on alcoholic drinks. But following a massive lobby campaign by Big Booze – stretching from Dublin and Brussels to Washington...
www.ftm.eu
October 13, 2025 at 4:16 AM
The worldwide #alcohol lobby went full TOBACCO on a small 🇪🇺 country to keep this basic info from your bottle:
🍺 alcohol causes liver disease
🍻 there is a direct link with cancer
Even the 🇺🇸 government weight in to help Big Booze out...
Read our latest story 👇
www.ftm.eu/articles/alc...
🍺 alcohol causes liver disease
🍻 there is a direct link with cancer
Even the 🇺🇸 government weight in to help Big Booze out...
Read our latest story 👇
www.ftm.eu/articles/alc...
What mind-blowing investigations Europe's independent media had to offer this week! 🤯
www.ftm.eu/articles/sad...
www.ftm.eu/articles/sad...
Sad chickens, spies, and sold secrets
Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalism
www.ftm.eu
October 11, 2025 at 4:33 PM
What mind-blowing investigations Europe's independent media had to offer this week! 🤯
www.ftm.eu/articles/sad...
www.ftm.eu/articles/sad...
Reposted by Lise Witteman
NEU: Wie Ungarns Spione in Brüssel gegen die EU arbeiteten. Unsere Recherche mit @tijd.be und @direkt36.bsky.social zeigt erstmals, wie der ungarische Auslandsgeheimdienst EU-Beamte ins Visier nahm - und aufflog. Hier geht's zum Text im SPIEGEL www.spiegel.de/ausland/eu-w...
(S+) EU: Wie Ungarns Agenten in Brüssel Informanten anzuwerben versuchten
Ungarische Spione trieben wohl jahrelang ihr Unwesen in Brüssel. Recherchen zeigen erstmals, dass sie sogar EU-Beamte rekrutieren wollten.
www.spiegel.de
October 9, 2025 at 4:14 AM
NEU: Wie Ungarns Spione in Brüssel gegen die EU arbeiteten. Unsere Recherche mit @tijd.be und @direkt36.bsky.social zeigt erstmals, wie der ungarische Auslandsgeheimdienst EU-Beamte ins Visier nahm - und aufflog. Hier geht's zum Text im SPIEGEL www.spiegel.de/ausland/eu-w...