{"id":495377,"date":"2025-10-13T05:43:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T05:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/495377\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T05:43:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T05:43:14","slug":"the-eu-office-that-called-out-a-shady-dutch-contractor-follow-the-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/495377\/","title":{"rendered":"The EU office that called out a shady Dutch contractor – Follow the Money"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our journalism is only possible thanks to the trust of our paying members. Not a member yet? Sign up now<\/a><\/p>\n

Welcome to Bureau Brussels \u2013 your weekly deep dive into the power plays, backroom deals, and expert investigations shaping life for over 450 million EU citizens. Tips or feedback? Reach us at [email\u00a0protected]<\/a><\/p>\n

This week: corruption, conservation, and carbon \u2013 business as usual in Brussels.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n STORY OF THE WEEK<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

The EU office that called out a shady Dutch contractor<\/strong><\/p>\n

One small company, GW Cross Media, built a near-monopoly by archiving Dutch government websites, readers of our Dutch sister site ftm.nl learned<\/a> last week. For years, local authorities allowed little competition \u2013 turning its owner into a multimillionaire.<\/p>\n

The company soon set its sights on Europe. In 2018, it scored a \u20ac400,000-4-year EU tender, but when it came time to deliver, it ran head-first into the strict, no-nonsense oversight of the Publications Office of the European Union.<\/p>\n

Just a few months into the contract, tensions flared. Released emails show the owner of GW Cross Media (the same man Dutch governments would later make a millionaire) lamenting the \u201cexcessive\u201d amount of questions the Publications Office were asking. \u201cFor now it seems that for you the project is not about web archiving but has become an administrative project, all about reports,\u201d he complained, claiming to have received 130 emails.<\/p>\n

A Publications Office official (name redacted) coolly corrected the record \u2013 only 59 emails had been sent \u2013 and reminded the company: \u201cThe invitation to tender clearly set out the requirements, both operational and administrative.\u201d<\/p>\n

After more back-and-forth, the official tried to stay upbeat: \u201cI am confident that these are teething problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

They weren\u2019t. Less than three months later, the Publications Office issued a report with \u201cpoints for improvement\u201d, citing unfulfilled promises, missed deadlines and attempts by the company to charge \u201cextra money for additional services\u201d already \u00a0covered by the contract.<\/p>\n

By early 2019, GW Cross Media was summoned to Luxembourg. According to the minutes, both sides quickly \u201cagreed that there was a mismatch between objectives and expectations\u201d. It became clear the Dutch firm couldn\u2019t deliver \u2013 and just like that, the four-year contract, terminated \u201cby mutual agreement\u201d, ended after a mere 15 months.<\/p>\n

Peter Teffer<\/p>\n

\n Other news from the EU bubble\n<\/p>\n

From donor darling to disgrace, Chad expels African Parks – EU money on hold<\/strong><\/p>\n

African Parks \u2013 Africa\u2019s largest manager of nature reserves and a long-time EU funding favourite \u2013 has been ordered to leave Chad.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The NGO, which counts Prince Harry among its board members, was once hailed as a saviour of African wildlife.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But after a string of scandals and investigations<\/a> into unexplained animal deaths this year, \u00a0Chad\u2019s government now accuses African Parks of financial mismanagement, fraud, and turning a blind eye to \u00a0poaching. Officials called out the group\u2019s \u201crude and disrespectful\u201d attitude and were not amused to find out it holds several offshore bank accounts on the Isle of Man, a notorious tax haven.<\/p>\n

Despite having poured over \u20ac150 million into African Parks, according to internal sources, the EU has grown critical of African Parks\u2019 performance for some time amid corruption complaints and funds allegedly being diverted. The European Commission has confirmed to Follow the Money that the contribution of approximately 10 million euro to the project is currently put on hold.<\/p>\n

This marks the first time an African government has cut ties with the powerful conservation NGO. African Parks did not directly respond to the allegations, but said in a statement<\/a> that it was in talks with the government.<\/p>\n

Olivier van Beemen<\/p>\n

AI\u2019s power problem? Brussels isn\u2019t losing sleep<\/strong><\/p>\n

The AI fever gripping financial markets has delayed the phase-out of coal plants<\/a> in the U.S. and is sparking fresh investment<\/a> in nuclear energy. Yet, despite rising concerns over AI\u2019s carbon footprint<\/a>, the new European Commission push to \u201cApply AI<\/a>\u201d appears unworried about the technology\u2019s soaring energy demands. Instead, the new report urges the energy sector to adopt AI to optimise energy grids and storage, while offering only a cursory nod to the \u00a0rapid rise in energy consumption the technology is expected to bring.<\/p>\n

Its only tangible commitment? Hidden deep in an annex: a plan to ask companies to report AI-related energy consumption under a common standard. But even that\u2019s not expected until late next year \u2013 while Big Tech\u2019s servers, and the coal plants feeding them, keep burning.<\/p>\n

Alexander Fanta<\/p>\n

Frontex welcome\u2019s Haftar\u2019s Libyan officials\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the first time ever, officials from eastern Libya, under the control of General Haftar, alongside delegates from western Libya, will visit the European border agency Frontex in Warsaw before heading to Brussels to meet with EU representatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The European Commission confirmed the visit on Friday after the Italian investigative newsroom IRPI Media reported<\/a> about it. It follows Libya\u2019s recent announcement that its authorities plan to carry out voluntary repatriations from detention centres under their control.<\/p>\n

Repatriations have also been the focus of recent meetings held by the EU ambassador to Libya, Nicola Orlando. European representatives are pushing for a new repatriation system, which could see Frontex play a more direct role.<\/p>\n

IRPI Media<\/p>\n

OUR LATEST INVESTIGATIONS<\/p>\n

This is the warning Big Alcohol wants to keep off your bottles of beer<\/strong><\/p>\n

What appears on a pack of cigarettes should now also appear on a bottle of beer: a warning that alcohol causes cancer. But for Heineken, this was unacceptable. The brewer giant did everything possible to stop Irish plans for red warning labels.<\/p>\n

Documents obtained by FTM reveal how the beer company used scientists to sow doubt and exerted pressure on governments through lobby groups. Even now, many people do not know that alcohol causes cancer, and Heineken wants to keep it that way…<\/p>\n

Read the article<\/a><\/p>\n

Europeans\u2019 health data sold to U.S. firm run by ex-Israeli spies<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAll of the red flags should have been raised during this acquisition\u201d, a former intelligence officer warned, referring to the sale of Dutch company Zivver. Used by hospitals, courts and immigration services across the U.K., the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, the deal has placed highly sensitive European data in the hands of an Israel-linked American firm.<\/p>\n

In June 2025, Zivver was acquired by a U.S. company led by former Israeli intelligence officers, prompting concerns over data security and oversight. Follow the Money can also reveal that Zivver\u2019s supposedly fully encrypted system isn\u2019t as airtight as claimed, with evidence showing the company can temporarily view messages before they are encrypted.<\/p>\n

Read the investigation<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Podcast | European money is fueling the global spyware industry<\/strong><\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd0d A stranger reading your messages, tracking your movements, scrolling through your photos \u2013 that\u2019s what spyware can do, often without you even knowing. Marketed as a tool to fight terrorism and crime, it\u2019s also being used to silence journalists, activists, and political opponents.<\/p>\n

In our latest episode, Greek journalist Vas Panagiotopoulos reveals how the EU and national governments are funnelling public funds to companies behind this powerful surveillance technology \u2013 firms accused of aiding authoritarian regimes while cashing in on European taxpayer money.<\/p>\n

Listen to the episode<\/a>\u00a0
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