The EU’s big job interview, part 2

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 edition is all about the hearings for European commissioner-designates, which ended last week. Remember those tough questions we suggested MEPs should throw at the candidates? Well, we’re now back with the highlights of their answers – or their attempts to dodge them.?

We’ve also got news on the dog food scandal we exposed last year. And don’t miss our latest reads: von der Leyen’s secret texts, Big Food putting the squeeze on supermarkets, and some Dutch “Wolves of Wall Street” cashing in on the climate crisis.

How the commissioners answered – or dodged – our questions

Maro? ?ef?ovi? (Interinstitutional Relations) – Transparency push?

How do you plan to ensure the EU becomes more open and transparent – meeting the needs of those trying to keep it accountable?

During the hearing, Maro? ?ef?ovi? committed to stronger EU transparency, requiring all Commission managers to follow "no registration = no meeting." When asked if this rule could apply to all EU officials, ?ef?ovi? said he’d consider it. Later on, however, he dodged a straightforward question about financial sanctions for Code of Conduct breaches. He suggested such measures are unlikely to happen anytime soon. Still, he promised to improve the Transparency Register, stating, “You’re out" if the criteria aren’t met.

Let's hope he sticks to these promising words, once he’s all cosied up in his office.

Lise Witteman/Lisanne van Vucht

Christophe Hansen (Agriculture) and Jessika Roswall (Environment) – Sustainable farming policies?

The biggest challenge to sustainable agriculture is the false claim that it harms farmers, promoted by agricultural lobbies and leading to the demise of key pesticide reduction targets. Will you make sure that whatever tale you’ll hear on innovative farming techniques, there will be clear regulation for reaching biodiversity targets?

During the hearing, Jessika Roswall pledged to cut pesticide use by 50% by 2030 and promised to "work hard" to meet the Green Deal targets. But she will be working with Christophe Hansen, soon to be commissioner for agriculture, who was more cautious, warning he’s "not the only captain on board". He said that all farmers want to reduce their use of pesticides, but they need “viable innovative alternatives” (red flag alert!) before products are taken off the market. Innovation, like precision farming, could help – but deploying it costs money, he said.

Well, we won’t have to ask where that money might come from. Looks like this dossier will keep us following the money for the coming years.?

Lise Witteman/Lisanne van Vucht

Michael McGrath (rule of law) - How to protect EU funds from autocrats?

With far-right parties gaining ground across Europe, how will you ensure that taxpayers' money doesn’t end up supporting leaders who undermine the very principles the EU stands for?

"Respect for the rule of law is a must for EU funds,” Michael McGrath said during his hearing. “It doesn’t matter who is in power; there will be no double standards when it comes to my approach on rule of law issues”, he added. Strong words, but after several questions, he admitted that the EU needs to “strengthen and build” a closer link between its countries’ compliance with the rule of law and their access to EU funds. McGrath did not hesitate, however, to stress that the EU is currently withholding 6 billion euros in funds from Hungary under the “conditionality mechanism,” which requires Member States to respect the rule of law and protect fundamental rights to qualify for EU funding.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on McGrath to see if he fulfils his promise.

Alistair Keepe

Magnus Brunner (Migration) - Who is really in control?

The EU is increasingly relying on external organisations like ICMPD to manage migration, often with minimal oversight. Will these shadowy organisations gain even more power over EU migration policy? And how will you ensure EU citizens can see exactly where their money is going?

During his hearing, Brunner mentioned several times external partners when it comes to the future of migration policies under his power. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) was mentioned several times. Like ICMPD, the IOM operates with little democratic oversight. A clear sign of the Commission's growing reliance on shadowy organisations in this field. Brunner did, however, state that for migration deals, where external organisations often play an important role, he would involve the Parliament “I believe that transparency is really, really important, as is the involvement of the Parliament as a whole in all these agreements, including with third countries”, he stated during his hearing.?

You can be sure we’ll hold Brunner to his word.

Salsabil Fayed

Jozef Síkela (International Partnerships) -? Aid or political agenda?

The EU is increasingly using development aid funds for projects that explicitly advance its own political objectives. How will you ensure this self-centred approach doesn’t undermine the real mission of development aid – fighting poverty?

Síkela was asked during his hearing whether he will resist the “utilitarian trend” of using development aid to serve EU interests instead of helping partner countries. His response? A vague nod to fighting poverty and highlighting the EU’s big spending. His closing remark – “I’m not sure if I’m correctly responding to your question” – sums it up: he didn’t.

Emma du Chatinier/Nathan Domon

Wopke Hoekstra (Climate)? - Hydrogen hype?

Will you keep pushing hydrogen and commit billions of euros to it, or are you willing to reassess the overly ambitious targets?

Nobody asked that question during the hearing. That omission says it all; hydrogen is fully embraced by policymakers in Brussels. There was some discussion about Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), which is related to hydrogen (cause it opens the door to producing hydrogen with fossil fuels while limiting emissions by storing the carbon underground). Hoekstra insisted “there is simply no other way” to keep heavy industries in Europe.?

But even he admitted: “we cannot CCS ourselves out of the problem”. Still, expect more EU subsidies for CCS projects – despite its unproven scalability and fears it’ll keep us hooked on fossil fuels for decades to come.

Jesse Pinster

Valdis Dombrovskis (Economy) - Cutting red tape?

Under the next term, President von der Leyen has promised a further 35% cut for SMEs. How do you plan to hit those reduction targets without undermining key policies? And when can we expect to see these cuts in action??

During the hearing, he was asked four times (!) how he will achieve these goals. Maybe I am not fluent enough in Valdis-speak, but I did not detect any grand new ideas or concrete specifics that make these goals look achievable. Check it out yourself in this compilation of all his answers.

Peter Teffer

Marta Kos (Enlargement) - How to deal with Ukrainians farmers?

Ukraine is a major agricultural player. If it joins the EU, it would receive millions in subsidies from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). How does the Commission plan to reform the CAP to ensure Ukraine’s smooth integration into the EU?

Kos was asked how she will handle the flood of cheap Ukrainian grain and protect EU farmers if Ukraine were to join the EU. In her response, Kos didn’t exactly bring clarity. She talked about long negotiation timelines, using Poland’s 20-year transition into the EU agricultural market as an example, and vague assurances about protecting EU farmers (“We have to take care of the farmers in the European Union, and we will do this”). She ended by saying she trusts the EU will “find the right way.”

It wasn’t exactly a concrete plan – more like a mix of optimism and guesswork. And notably, there was no mention of just how massive an overhaul the CAP would require to bring Ukraine into the EU.

Hans Wetzels/Nathan Domon

Teresa Ribera (Competition) - Corporate tax deals crackdown?

With the significant victory against Apple, will you reignite investigations into other controversial tax rulings? And will you keep using state aid rules as a tool to challenge aggressive tax planning by multinationals?

The question of revisiting tax rulings or tackling aggressive tax planning was nowhere to be found during the hearing. Instead, we got a full plate of energy transition, competition policy, industrial challenges, and environmental restoration. Important stuff, but how about tax justice? Looks like it didn’t make the cut, unlike five years ago, when outgoing competition chief Margrethe Vestager told MEPs “this will be a matter of high priority.” Shifting priorities at the Commission? Or in the Parliament??

Simon Van Dorpe/Nathan Domon

Henna Virkkunen (Tech) - Big Tech stand-off?

In Europe, several Big Tech companies are locked in battle with the Commission over the enforcement of its new social media law: the Digital Services Act (DSA). Will you stand firm against Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and other Big Tech barons?

During her hearing, Virkkunnen faced repeated questions about whether she’d hold her ground against U.S. pressure to go easy on tech billionaire Elon Musk, whose platform X? is facing the EU’s first regulatory probe under the DSA. With always the same answer: “Everybody who is operating and making business in the European markets has to respect our rules and our legislation.” She promised to double the Commission’s DSA enforcement team from 100 to 200 staff, and said she was “fully committed to fully enforce all the legislations and use all the tools we have there maximally.”?

With Trump soon back in the White House and his buddy Elon Musk along for the ride, things could get spicy. Grab your popcorn – we’ll keep you updated!

Alexander Fanta

Other news from the EU bubble

Deadly dog food, one year on

At the end of 2023, we uncovered a scandal in Finland involving deadly dog food. The kibble produced by pet shop Musti contained potato flakes from the Netherlands with dangerously high levels of glycoalkaloids. The result: sick and, in some cases, deceased dogs. Turns out the EU has no maximum limit for this toxin, based on a risk assessment from EFSA, the EU food safety regulator.

After the incident, EFSA promised to revisit its assessment. A year later? No policy change – EFSA says there’s not enough new evidence to revise it. Musti’s push for an EU-wide limit is going nowhere.

In the meantime, Musti’s chief operating officer Pamela Nelimarkka told MTV News that in the absence of EU regulations, they’ve set their own glycoalkaloid limit. The specific threshold remains a trade secret but is described as “very low.”

Peter Teffer

Our latest reads

We finally know more about Ursula’s secret vaccine texts

On Friday in court, the European Commission admitted Ursula von der Leyen texted Pfizer’s CEO when negotiating a billion-euro vaccine deal during the pandemic. The catch? They didn’t archive the messages. Will we ever know what might have shaped Europe’s biggest vaccine deal?

FTM’s Alexander Fanta, the journalist who broke the “Pfizergate” story, was in court to follow the case. Read his brief recap here.

Alexander Fanta

How top brands squeeze supermarkets – and your wallet

Soaring grocery bills? Missing products on shelves? This is becoming impossible to ignore for consumers across Europe. Supermarkets often take the blame, but the reality isn’t so simple.

Our investigation reveals how Big Food producers – the brands you know and buy – are treating Europe as a cash cow, using aggressive tactics to squeeze supermarkets and boost their profits, leaving you footing the bill.

Read the full story here.

Henk Willem Smits, Remy Koens, Salsabil Fayed

Green ‘Wolves of Wall Street’ are cashing in on the climate crisis

Two Dutch trading firms have made big profits by helping companies and governments reach their climate goals. Their promise? To make the world a little greener.

But our investigation suggests their methods might be less green and clean than they claim. Read the full article for more on this increasingly lucrative industry, its lack of transparency, and its questionable impact on fighting climate change.

Read the full story here.

Mira Sys and Ties Gijzel