The new European Commission's focus for the next five years will be on boosting industry's "competitiveness". This entails a radical deregulation agenda for rules that industry perceives as burdensome. Von der Leyen's deregulation agenda was heavily inspired by corporate lobbying campaigns. Last year, the chemical industry led on the Antwerp Declaration, a wish list of industry to slash regulations. This is now followed by the 'Clean Industrial Deal' which is pushing fossil gas for hydrogen, and ignores the other planetary crisis: pollution and biodiversity decline. CEO has compiled an initial list of more than 15 different tools for systemic deregulation. These create more hurdles for new progressive EU regulation, and create escape routes allowing companies to avoid regulation, as well as new hurdles for national level regulation. A good example are the Omnibus proposals, the first of which diluted sustainability reporting rules that had only recently been agreed. We'll share our insights on these new developments in the deregulation agenda, assess what's at stake, and how to build stories around them, at the European level and in your country.
I'M WAITING FOR THE SPEAKERS TO CONFIRM THE TITLE AND DESCRIPTION Far-right and other extremist networks in Europe organise themselves and coordinate their activities across borders by using different technological and strategic means, and pursuing different social and political goals. In this session, two (or three, or four) journalists will explain the diverse methodologies they employed to investigate how powerful hardliner networks operate in Europe.
Brecht Castel will describe how he and his colleagues used OSINT techniques to uncover how Active Clubs -- which mix fitness and martial arts with far-right ideology -- recruit and radicalise their members online. And Gabriela Keller will explain how she and her colleagues investigated how the international religious right has built cross-border alliances with civil society and political actors, with the aim of influencing policy and restrict women's reproductive rights.
By attending this session, you will learn different approaches to think of and plan a collaborative investigation into the activities of extremist networks.
Whistleblowers can be vital sources for journalists, and their information has initiated some of the biggest investigations. But whistleblowers are running big risks – from personal safety to legal threats. What do you do as a journalist if you are approached by a whistleblower? How do you get and verify the information you need while still keeping your source secret and safe? And what protection exists for these people who shed light on conditions that were meant to be kept hidden? Join this conversation between a journalist with long experience of working with whistleblowers and secret sources and a specialist in the protection and legislation around whistleblowing.
We all know that oligarchs, gangsters and shady politicians use shell companies and trusts in offshore jurisdictions to hide their ill-gotten gains. Just because they hide their cash doesn't mean we can't find their companies! This session will show you the tools available to help you crack open those nests of shell companies. Come join us on this wild ride through an offshore maze
Privacy rights under GDPR are often seen as an obstacle to investigative journalism. In this session we focus on the great opportunity to access information which GDPR gives us. While national laws on the right to access information are for everyone, GDPR is about individual control over information. When you learn to make use of this regulation, you can access information from big tech companies, from consumer clubs, and even religious sects.
Satellite data has become a powerful resource in investigative journalism—but using it effectively comes with technical, ethical, and practical challenges. This session draws on several recent investigations to highlight how journalists are incorporating satellite imagery and geospatial data into their reporting.
We’ll explore how radar-based analysis was used to document destruction in Ukrainian cities, and how satellite-derived location data revealed movement patterns of German intelligence service employees. These examples show not just what’s possible, but also what can go wrong—and how journalists adapted when it did. From sourcing the data to picking the right tools and interpreting results responsibly, the session offers real-world insights into the craft of satellite-aided investigations.
No technical background is required. This isn’t a hands-on workshop, but a behind-the-scenes look at how satellite data fits into newsroom workflows.
Court records can be a true treasure trove, containing vital nuggets that can jumpstart your investigation or judgements primed for reporting. It can be tough enough to access court documents in our home countries, but how do you find records abroad, sometimes in secretive jurisdictions? This session will show you how to find legal judgements from arbitration courts to property disputes in places like Russia, UAE and the UK. We will show you how to access them (VPN may be needed), how we found stories in them, and will get you started on your quest for legal leads.
Many journalists get lost trying to find information and data quickly in the institutional labyrinth that is the European Union. Finding specific amendments, understanding the issues surrounding a piece of legislation, establishing the position of specific member states in negotiations or the approach of the European Commission... so much information is unknown or inaccessible to the layperson - who will easily become discouraged from pursuing their EU investigation.
In this session, we will will use concrete and practical examples to show you how to navigate the institutional triangle (Commission, EU Parliament and the Council), as well as the Court of Justice of the European Union. We'll explain how to track the European legislative process, quickly find the relevant players, information and data you need. This won't be an ex-cathedra lecture, but a practical deep dive session, with, as a take away, a list of useful links organised according to journalistic needs. After the session, you are also welcome to join us in the EU Cafe corner for a further discussion or get your specific EU questions answered.
In this session, we will share tips on tracking lobbyists and understanding how the PR campaigns and people behind them influence public policy. We will look into the available databases, registries and other methods that allow us to track lobbyists, their networks, topics they work on and their influence and the EU level and beyond. Lobby watchdog Corporate Europe Observatory will introduce you to the Brussels lobby scene and show you how available lobby data can help you to nail your stories. Ellen Ormesher from De Smog will talk how to investigate corporate influence through the PR industry. It's an industry which is loosely regulated and yet influences the wider public conversation, ensuring some topics are kept off the agenda, while affecting other policies and their implementation.
Private finance data aggregators are a powerful - if often expensive - tool for understanding the investment and ownership structures of the funds or companies that are the subject of your investigation. With the right approach, they can also help generate stories by identifying suspicious or controversial flows of money. This sessions shows you how. We will share a case study from a recent series that revealed supposedly ethical public pension funds held investments in controversial businesses - including tankers for Russian fossil fuels and crypto, all via opaque private equity intermediaries.
The arms business is booming. Between 2014 and 2023, EU countries have increased their defense spending by more than half, reaching 632 billion euros annually, and the defence budget is to explode in 2025. With defense budgets surging globally, how can journalists effectively investigate the defense industry during this period of rapid growth? In recent years, two reporters from Investigate Europe have uncovered hidden aspects of the German Rheinmetall Group's operations, including its covert trade in ammunition factories. This workshop will share their insights and techniques, demonstrating how to investigate companies, employees, and trade flows in the defense sector. Participants will gain practical knowledge of investigative tools and strategies to uncover the concealed practices driving the arms industry's expansion.
Bluetooth trackers can help you develop interesting investigations. This team started using trackers while following two cars from Germany to Siberia, then a parcel from Prague to Moscow. In late 2024, they tracked more than 230 letters sent within Germany, using up to 80 trackers simultaneously. For almost 1,5 year, they tracked 24 items of electronic waste from Germany to places as far as Pakistan. In this session, the team will share the learnings and the technology behind all these projects and the scraping tools and software behind them. They will also bring some trackers and covers to inspire colleagues to use these devices, and share lessons learnt from ongoing collaborations in different countries where other journalists and newsrooms licensed their forward for their respective projects.
