EU-made facial recognition ended up scanning schoolchildren in Brazil
The EU restricts biometric surveillance at home – but its landmark AI Act does nothing to prevent European companies from exporting the same technology abroad.
Investigation
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The secret European Commission group driving EU deportations
First launched in late 2022, the so-called High Level Network for Returns (HLNR) used the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel as a justification to enforce the exchange of data of individuals with a deportation order and flagged as “potential terrorists”.
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How the Kremlin turns schoolchildren into future soldiers in occupied Ukraine
When Russian forces occupy a Ukrainian town, schools are often targeted first. An investigation into hundreds of Telegram posts from Russian propaganda channels operating in occupied Ukraine since 2022 reveals a systematic campaign to militarise and indoctrinate children through schools.
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Bolshoi-loving banker threatened Euroclear CEO, amid EU talks on Russian assets
A French banker inside Euroclear, who flew to Russia 155 times for “private” reasons, allegedly tried to connect the company’s CEO, Valérie Urbain, with Russian spies and threatened her when she declined, according to an investigation by EUobserver, Humo, De Morgen, and Dossier Center.
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Europe’s landfill crisis exposed: new map reveals toxic cocktail of environmental risks
Thousands of landfills across Europe lie in flood-risk zones, areas which could endanger drinking water or sensitive conservation sites, Investigate Europe and Watershed Investigations can reveal in the largest landfill mapping exercise ever undertaken across the continent.
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Revealed: EU’s €1.5bn promo scheme backing ‘sustainable’ meat and dairy
The €1.5bn “Enjoy, it’s from Europe” scheme — largely funded by the Common Agricultural Policy — emphasises the “authenticity, safety, sustainability and quality” of EU-farmed food and drinks. A new investigation, however, finds that the sustainability claims of the advertised produce are often misleading or false.
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Drugs, violence and profit: Inside Britain’s Brook House detention centre
At the UK’s Brook House, migrants describe being trapped in a system driven by profit rather than policy — a place where private companies earn more the longer people are kept in limbo, a new investigation reveals.
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How Baltic firms secretly fuel Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’
Every day, Russian tankers carry billions of dollars’ worth of oil across the Baltic Sea. Despite sweeping Western sanctions, this trade continues to fuel the Kremlin’s war machine. An investigation by LRT, 15min, Eesti Ekspress, and Nekā personīga reveals how a network of companies in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia is helping to keep Moscow’s ‘shadow fleet’ running.
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How the Netherlands engineered its asylum crisis — and turned it into a business
The Dutch asylum system has been in crisis mode for years. An international investigation by Dutch investigative journalism collective Spit, together with Altreconomia in Italy, scrutinised the enormous amounts of public funds in Europe disappearing into asylum reception and detention. Who benefits from the cash flow generated by the asylum crisis?
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European Investment Fund financed Israeli spyware company Paragon
The European Investment Fund backed Israeli spyware firm Paragon Solutions in 2020 through a local venture fund, according to a new investigation by Belgian investigative site Apache. Founded a year earlier by former Israeli PM Ehud Barak and an Israeli ex-intelligence chief, Paragon’s spyware has been used against activists in multiple countries, including Italy.
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Italy-Albania migrant deal: Millions spent, few results
Migrants were detained in Albanian centres under an Italy-Albania deal, managed by the Medihospes cooperative on a €133m contract, but legal, operational, and ethical issues persist, an investigation reveals.
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‘Cementing over our own future’: Europe’s nature loss is 600 football pitches daily
Every year, Europe loses 1,500km² to construction. Green spaces that once sheltered wildlife, supplied food and removed carbon from the atmosphere at an alarming rate, a new investigation reveals.
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Behind the scam: how an alleged criminal network set a trap for thousands of Europeans to fall for ‘fake’ investments and raked in millions
A suspected scam network operating out of Serbia duped an estimated 70,000 people worldwide into making bogus investments, profiting €250m in the process. The transnational scheme involved a former Premier League team sponsor and a convicted money launderer, Investigate Europe and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network can reveal, in the first part of our Scam Europe series.
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Five EUobserver investigations from 2025 so far you shouldn’t miss
Here’s a reminder of some of the investigations you may have missed so far this year — and why they still matter.
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Mystery of Boeing cargo flights from Belgium to Israel
A Boeing 747 cargo plane that flies from Belgium in and out of Israel’s wartime airspace is carrying mostly fish, not weapons, the Israeli airline says, while no one in Belgium cares to check.
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European Defence Fund millions benefiting Israeli state-owned drone manufacturer
A European subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries is currently involved in 15 EU defence projects, including a multi-million euro drone development programme co-funded by European governments.
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Frivolous copyright claims ‘censor’ Investigate Europe’s gambling exposé
An investigation into blacklisted online casinos has been the target of bogus infringement claims sent to Google by unnamed actors. MEPs are asking for journalistic work to be better protected and for a Europe-wide crackdown on unlicensed gambling.
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Green dreams: The cost of EU’s hydrogen gamble in Namibia
In this new investigation, EUobserver unveils how Namibia’s Hyphen hydrogen project, heavily backed by the EU, promises green energy and economic growth, but threatens irreversible damage to a unique biodiversity hotspot. Critics warn so-called ‘green’ hydrogen could come at the expense of biodiversity and neocolonial exploitation.
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Smart Fortress Europe: How Greece uses tech to crack down on migration
With EU funding, Greece is ramping up its use of drones and AI to monitor migration. A cross-border investigation by Solomon, Tagesspiegel, Inkstick, El País and Wochenzeitung reveals how far the surveillance system stretches.
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Unpacking EU’s food fight over new gene-edited supercrops
After months of standstill, the EU’s plan to ease restrictions on New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) could move forward on Friday, pushing efforts from factory farm capitals to bypass concerns from countries worried about small and organic farmers. Here’s why it’s controversial — and how Poland’s stance has shifted the balance.