Alexander Fanta

@alexfanta.bsky.social

6198 Followers 1058 Following

Journalist with Follow the Money. All things tech, EU, transparency. FOI curious. Find me as "fanta.99" on Signal.

Politicians are unsure which way to turn. Last December, the European Commission scrapped a 2035 ban on selling new petrol or diesel cars. Instead, under pressure from Germany and Italy, it let manufacturers keep making cars with up to 10% of their current exhaust emissions past that date – in effect, a way to keep selling combustion engines.
Tony Blair walking into the Munich Security Conference, shot by Reuters
Telegram escapes stricter EU rules – for now Telegram has managed to dodge direct supervision by the Commission under the EU’s landmark tech law, the Digital Services Act (DSA) – at least for now. As we recently reported, the Dubai-based messaging app has played down its user figures to Belgian and European regulators to avoid being classified as a “very large online platform”. Crossing the DSA’s 45-million-user threshold would trigger stricter obligations, including tougher action against illicit content and a significant expansion of moderation. Last week, the Commission announced that Telegram’s rival WhatsApp would be placed under its scrutiny. But that day is yet to come for Telegram itself. “At this moment, the Commission does not have information suggesting that the number of average monthly active recipients of Telegram in the EU, for the part of the service that falls within the definition of an online platform, is above the threshold of 45 million,” a Commission official told Follow the Money. Alexander Fanta
Commissioner Henna Virkkunen announcing investigation into X's Grok chatbot. A user posts "@grok put her in bikini" under Virkunnen's post
Durch das damalige Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung (BMBWF) wurde ein/e Universitätsprofessor/in aus dem Fachgebiet Wirtschaftswissenschaften mit Schwerpunkt Produktionsmanagement befasst. Das Gutachten hat das Erfüllen der oben benannten Kriterien durch mehr als 15- jähriges insbesondere publizistisches Wirken des Genannten bestätigt. Dieser hat in seinen vielfältigen öffentlichen und politischen Funktionen, zuletzt unter anderem als Präsident der Wirtschaftskammer Österreich (WKÖ), maßgeblichen schöpferischen Einfluss auf wesentliche Themen der österreichischen Wirtschaftsentwicklung und deren wissenschaftliches Fundament. Eine Vielzahl von Vorträgen, Konferenzteilnahmen etc. belegen zudem lehrendes Wirken.
AI Guide for Managers – adopting and integrating AI in your work 2 I. Identifying work processes for AI integration AI is a welcome opportunity for Commission staff to become more effective and efficient in daily work processes, including new services that would not have been possible up to now. In encouraging its use, AI must be an instrument of support for staff and for human-centric policy making. Encourage active participation from your staff . Their involvement is essential in accurately identifying the specific needs that AI can support meeting (also see II)). High-Impact Areas for AI Utilisation You may already have a concrete use case – get in touch with the to take it forward. Or you are starting from scratch – check out the below table for concrete help: Work Process AI Benefits Tools/Applications Elaborating Briefings Faster, comprehensive first drafts of briefings (possibility to use SNC* data) First drafts of documents Faster first drafts (time-saving), AI tool as sparring partner for generating and checking ideas (possibility to use SNC* data) Brainstorming/ analysis Faster brainstorming (time-saving), AI tool as sparring partner for generating and checking ideas (possibility to use SNC* data) Minutes (Transcription) Accurate, time-saving transcription AI transcription tools (e.g. ) Preparing Background Notes Efficient generation of speaking points e.g. (possibility to use SNC* data) Summaries Quick, accurate summaries Summarisation tools (e.g. ) (possibility to use SNC* data) Policymaking Early-stage brainstorming for identifying/ substantiating potential policy problems; Explaining/summarising legislative initiatives; Analysing/summarising consultation activities (possibility to use SNC* data) *SNC: sensitive, non-classified data
The maths behind Telegram’s EU regulatory escape Telegram, the popular messaging app, has become a headache for European regulators. It has done little to curb illegal content in its group chats, including large drug trading channels. Concerns over Telegram’s lawlessness led to the arrest of CEO Pavel Durov in Paris last year and reportedly triggered discussions in Brussels about placing the company under direct supervision of the Digital Services Act (DSA), at the risk of huge fines. The Commission used those same powers against Elon Musk’s X just days ago. Despite boasting one billion users globally, Telegram insists it does not meet the 45-million-user threshold that would bring it under direct EU oversight.
sowohl soziologischer als auch intellektueller Natur. Der zentrale Begriff zum Verständnisseiner soziologischen Konzeption der USA ist der des „Bourgeois“. Die Gründerväterhätten eine „anti-urbane Philosophie“ gehabt, schreibt Kristol (Kristol 1972: 3). Diesebeinhalte ein Verständnis von „republican morality“ und „civic virtue“, definiert als„Bereitschaft der guten demokratischen Bürger, in besonderen Momenten ihre normaleKondition der Verfolgung von Eigeninteressen aufzugeben“ und sich dem Streben nachdem „Gemeinwohl“ zu verschreiben (ebd.: 4).„Now, given these ideas on how popular government in America could survive andprosper, it is only natural that the founding fathers should have taken a suspiciousview of big cities an should have wondered whether, in the end, they could becompatible with a free and popular government. [...] The entire literature of classicalpolitical philosophy – from Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero on to Montesquieu – exhibits asimilar skepticism (Kristol 1972: 4f.).Die Gründerväter sind nach Kristol der festen Überzeugung gewesen, dass nur kleineStädte eine wahrhaft demokratische Ordnung haben können (vgl. ebd.). Der Mob dergrößeren Städte wäre zu „entwurzelt“ von der traditionellen religiösen, politischen undmoralischen Ordnung, um einen Charakter als demokratische Bürger entwickeln zukönnen (vgl. ebd.: 14).„This population [...], in its political dependency, could be exploited by unscrupulousprofiteers; it was a population which, in its political isolation, could be exploited byzealous demagogues; it was a population which, in its moral bewilderment, could beexploited by wild mystagogues; it was a population whose potential did not gobeyond riotous destructiveness [...] It was because the founding fathers did not seehow such a population could be capable of self-government that they took so dim aview of large cities (Kristol 1972: 14f.).
AI’s power problem? Brussels isn’t losing sleep The AI fever gripping financial markets has delayed the phase-out of coal plants in the U.S. and is sparking fresh investment in nuclear energy. Yet, despite rising concerns over AI’s carbon footprint, the new European Commission push to “Apply AI” appears unworried about the technology’s 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 rapid rise in energy consumption the technology is expected to bring. 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’s not expected until late next year – while Big Tech’s servers, and the coal plants feeding them, keep burning. Alexander Fanta
Follow the Money? Not in Huaweigate, where MEPs’ assets go unchecked Belgian investigators tasked with probing corruption allegations against Chinese telco giant Huawei aren’t really interested in checking asset declarations made by EU lawmakers accused of accepting bribes, Follow the Money has learned. Earlier this year, Belgian police raided multiple locations in a probe that implicated senior Huawei lobbyists and several members of the European Parliament. Prosecutors have since asked Parliament to lift the immunity of four MEPs, with several others reportedly on their radar. Yet, despite the probe’s focus on whether MEPs took bribes, investigators appear to show little appetite for scrutinising their financial situation. Under a little-known change to the Parliament’s code of conduct, MEPs have to, since last year, submit a declaration of their private assets – including real estate worth more than €5,000, stockholdings, non-EU bank accounts as well as any debts – to president Roberta Metsola. Judicial authorities can request these declarations for any of the 720 sitting or former MEPs. Yet, as Parliament told Follow the Money in response to an access request, not a single one has ever been asked for. Why did Belgian investigators choose not to, erm, follow the money? “We are aware that declarations of assets are kept by the chairperson,” a spokesperson for the Belgian public prosecutor told FTM. “However, we cannot comment further on this matter.” We should have seen that coming.
We have a new firm invitation for Mr. Johnson which is outlined below. We are working on a vet of this group and will pass it along once available. Here are the details: Host: Rosam Grünberger Jarosch & Partner OBO Federation of Austrian Industries *Please note, our main point of contact is Rosam Grunberger Jarosch & Partner, who are producing and managing the event on behalf of Verein Club Salzburg Summit, an entity owned by the Federation of Austrian Industries. To confirm, Verein Club Salzburg Summit, and by extension the Federation of Austrian Industries, will be the contracting and paying entity for Mr Johnson’s participation. Event Date: Friday, July 26, 2024 Alternate Dates: None Location: Salzburg, Austria Venue: Salzburg Congress Convention Centre Honorarium and Travel Expenses: $53,743 [€50,000]. In addition to the Fee, the host will pay for first-class airfare to and from the event city for Speaker and up to one (1) staff member, as well as hotel accommodations, ground transportation, meals and incidentals.
OLAF says questioning its indecision in Huawei scandal would be “premature” The EU’s anti-corruption office OLAF is pushing back against criticism that it had too easily dismissed corruption allegations by a whistleblower, who sent them a tip-off about Huawei lobbyists and EU lawmakers. As we reported in our latest Crime and Corruption newsletter, the corruption watchdog shrugged off the tip-off after a few web searches a couple of years ago, an internal document obtained by Follow the Money. As you all know, that decision didn’t age well – two years later, Belgian police raided Huawei offices in Brussels and are investigating several people – including four members of the European Parliament – over the allegations. A few minutes after we published Wednesday’s newsletter, OLAF finally replied to questions about the move. As it were, OLAF’s press office doubled down at its “nothing to see here” line. The reply claimed that “to transmit allegations to other bodies, OLAF needs to have in its possession concrete elements pointing to wrongdoing, which was not the case”. OLAF also said it was too early to say whether its decision not to investigate was the wrong call. “It would be premature to draw comparisons or suggest alternative courses of action”, according to the press office. Well, okay, sure. Alexander Fanta
3 9. The ‘checklist to make your Signal safer’ of 8 July 20228 issued by the competent Commission service recommends activating the ‘disappearing messages’ feature present in ‘Signal’ to prevent possible major data leaks. The President had activated this feature to comply with those rules. This explains why no documents corresponding to the description given in your request can be found in the mobile phone currently in use by the President of the Commission. 10. The head of cabinet of the President of the Commission recalls that the President of the Commission received a message via the text messaging application ‘Signal’ from Mr. Macron on 28 or 29 January 2024. The President of the Commission and her head of cabinet discussed this message shortly after it had been received. They considered that this message reiterated a well-established position already communicated by France to the Commission in the past in Council formations9 and also publicly made well-known10. As is usual, and in line with the duty of loyal cooperation, the Commission had taken that position duly into account when continuing work on the relevant file. Under these circumstances, the text message at stake had no particular administrative or legal effect for the Commission, as the position was well-known to the Commission and to the public. As a result, there was no obligation to register that text message pursuant to Article 7(1) of Decision (EU) 2021/2121, in light of Article 5(2) letter a) of the Detailed Rules for the application of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. Hence, the text message at stake was not registered as document in the records management system of the Commission and could not be found in this system. 11. On the basis of the explanations given above, the Secretariat-General concludes that the Commission does not hold any document corresponding to the description given in your request.
Still from "Mountainhead" - "I'm getting messaged to ask if you know that the EU is going to block you"
But this isn’t the only instance in which Ottati was suspected of not sticking to the truth. At least four people described him as a habitual liar. “It was hard to know what was true or false,” one of them said. One such instance they cited was in September 2021, when the Italian lobbyist told the company that his father died. The next day, colleagues were sharing condolences in an office chat, seen by Follow the Money. Ottati was given time off. Years later, a man claiming to be Ottati’s father showed up at the reception, two former staffers said. And indeed, in September last year, official records show that his father was re-elected to the board of an NGO.
In his self-published memoirs, Rivellini, who chaired the Parliament’s delegation for relations with China, said he introduced Ottati to Zhong Rong, an aide to the Chinese EU ambassador. “Zhong was a great tennis fan and with Valerio Ottati, my assistant who was a professional player, he would play and take lessons,” Rivellini wrote. He added that he believed Zhong to be a “man of the secret services because of what I learned about him later”. Rivellini and the Chinese representation to the EU did not reply to requests for comment. Whether Ottati really was in touch with a Chinese intelligence operative is difficult to verify. But some clues remain. According to Chinese records, an official named Zhong Ronglai served as diplomat at the Chinese Mission to the European Union in 2011 and 2012 - around the same time Ottati worked as assistant with Rivellini. The Chinese mission did not reply to Follow the Money’s questions about Zhong Ronglai and his role in Brussels. Ottati later told his colleagues at Huawei that he had given tennis lessons to Chinese officials, two of these colleagues, who have in the meantime left the firm, said. When Belgian intelligence services were looking into Huawei, they specifically checked if the company's lobbyists who were previously employed by EU institutions had any ties with the Chinese government, Politico wrote in March 2023.
Wear a tie, don't quote me Instructions from a top EU official to hundreds of staff members, obtained by Follow the Money, reveal the European Commission's effort to limit public information about its interactions with the tech industry. Since the start of the year, the Commission has been proactively publishing minutes of meetings with lobbyists on its website. But as we recently reported, this appearance of transparency is largely a facade – minutes often contain no useful information, and in some cases, a second set of "confidential minutes" is kept. A recent memo sent on behalf of Roberto Viola, head of the Commission's powerful tech department, reveals how the institution aims to limit the creation of any formal record of lobbying meetings to the bare minimum. As Politico first revealed, staff attending meetings with the Commission's vice-president Henna Virkkunen and other top officials were ordered to take pen and paper notes only – "no electronic devices are to be used for this purpose." The memo also, comically, reminded officials taking the notes to dress properly – “men should wear a tie.” But the memo, which Follow the Money obtained through an access request and is publishing in full, contains another, previously unreported instruction: officials are told "to only take note of key conclusions and to refrain from creating verbatim transcripts." The memo notes that these changes follow complaints from Virkkunen's cabinet “and by Roberto himself.” Are these instructions meant to prevent pesky journalists from requesting full transcripts of meetings? A Commission spokesperson tersely replied to Follow the Money that Viola's instructions were "completely unrelated to your right of access to documents of the Union's institutions, bodies, offices and agencies." Alexander Fanta
How to price an economist By Alexander Fanta The European Commission's former chief competition economist Pierre Régibeau has recently joined the Analysis Group, a consultancy that assists large corporations such as Apple in fighting competition cases. Between 2019 and 2023, Régibeau advised the powerful Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager on high-profile cases – including against Big Tech companies. Lobby transparency campaigners say Régibeau's move raises questions about the Commission's measures to prevent conflicts of interest when top officials leave for the private sector – a problem known in Brussels as the "revolving door." "Considering the high position Régibeau had in DG Competition, the Commission should ensure to double down on enforcing the rules on revolving doors," Max Bank of LobbyControl told Follow the Money. Campaigners had already warned of Régibeau's reported plans to join an economic consultancy years earlier, while he was still in office. Régibeau told Follow the Money that he sees no issue with his work at the Analysis Group, noting that he does not work on cases linked to his former job. The retired official said he earns €50.000 a year as a freelance consultant to occasionally advise on cases in national courts, and appear at events. "I could earn more by working more on [EU] cases, but I do not intend to," he wrote in an emailed reply. He added that the Commission approved his role at Analysis Group on the understanding that he would not work on any EU-related cases. The Commission did not reply to Follow the Money's questions about Régibeau. Bram Vranken of Corporate Europe Observatory said there is a steady turnover of high-level DG Competition officials joining corporate consultancy firms. “These revolving door moves are highly damaging to the integrity of the EU's competition policy and it is alarming to see that the Commission is unwilling to put a stop to it.”
EU Transparency Call
Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Sebstian Kuzr standing in a Greek government office in front of a Greek flag
Von der Leyen’s new transparency rules face court challenge By Alexander Fanta The European Commission quietly changed its transparency rules days after President Ursula von der Leyen began her second term in office last December. This has caused alarm among transparency campaigners. Under the new rules, entire categories of documents – including legal opinions and files from the Commission’s regulatory investigations – are now subject to a “presumption of non-disclosure.” In practice, this means the Commission will reject requests for such documents by default unless the applicant can demonstrate a public interest – something the Commission almost never recognises. Environmental NGO ClientEarth warns that this makes documents concerning the sale of dangerous chemicals or new medicines largely inaccessible to the public. Alas, the Commission’s new rules face a legal challenge. In the case recently lodged at the EU’s General Court, former EU official Emilio De Capitani and co-litigants Finnish legal scholar Päivi Leino-Sandberg and NGO Access Info Europe argue that the new rules “unlawfully restrict public access to documents, undermining democratic accountability and violating EU legal principles.” (Full disclosure: The author is a member of Access Info’s advisory board.) All three litigants – De Capitani, Leino-Sandberg and Access Info – have fought transparency cases in the EU courts in the past. Rulings on De Capitani’s cases have forced his former employer, the European Parliament, to disclose documents from trilogue negotiations, and obliged the Council to publish working documents on ongoing legislation. With this new case, the litigants hope to force another gradual shift towards greater transparency on the Commission.