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Slovakia: The Countess and the farmers
The European Union directs a massive amount of money towards Slovakia in the form of agricultural subsidies. These funds are managed and redistributed by the Agricultural Paying Agency (APA), an organisation with an annual budget of more than half a billion euros at its disposal. This kind of money attracts not only farmers and agricultural […]
Subsidised and defrauded. Visegrad EU funds under the eye of OLAF
For over twenty years, the European Anti-Fraud Office (commonly known as OLAF, from the French: Office européen de lutte antifraude) has been protecting the EU’s financial interests, investigating fraud, corruption, and serious misconduct within the Union’s budget and institutions. The office has also developed an anti-fraud policy for the European Commission. But while OLAF looks […]
Big Brother in times of plague
To effectively fight the coronavirus pandemic, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland are introducing various smartphone apps that promise to increase the safety of citizens and eventually loosen lockdown measures. But in practice, enforcing this kind of digital leash raises many privacy and data security concerns. Story by: Konrad Szczygieł (Fundacja Reporterów); Daniel Antoni (Investigatívne […]
Lockdown: the disappearing face mask
Closed borders and citizens who face tightened supervision over their daily lives. Fast-paced, wide-sweeping and often chaotic actions of governments, which are usually scrutinised by journalists and public opinion but which now, during the COVID-19 epidemic, have become a state secret.
The Nuclear Influence. How Russia acts on the Central European energy market
30 years later after the fall of communism, Central Europe’s industries are connected to the West in innumerable ways. But signs that its nuclear industry continues to be heavily influenced by Russian interests are everywhere. Authors: András Szabó (Direkt36), Matej Gašparovič (ICJK), Hana Čápová, Eva Kubániová (investigace.cz), Graphics author: Lenka Matoušková In the Czech Republic, […]
Vulnerabilities of a Chinese Tech Giant
Huawei is at the center of heated political debate around the world. There is a general assumption among experts on China, ICT (Information and Communications Technology) experts and politicians that the company uses its ICT devices to spy on its users and provide this data to Chinese government. Though there have been separate cases of Huawei breaches […]
Inland, though Offshore. How Russia planned to secure its money
Many Western allies of Hungary are worried about Russia’s International Investment Bank (IIB) having moved its seat to Budapest. In the meantime the government of Hungary and IIB’s management are arguing that this is only a regular international bank and cannot even be categorized as ‘Russian.’ However, VSquare and its partners reveal how IIB’s head […]
Budapest. A welcoming gateway to Europe for a Russian bank
The management board of the Russian-led International Investment Bank (IIB) held its first meeting in its new headquarters, Budapest, this week. The move of IIB from Moscow to Budapest has been controversial since it was announced: experts, historians and the media have been worried that the bank would be a tool for the Kremlin to […]