The Energy Weapon

Moscow has used its control over Europe’s energy supplies as a tool of political leverage. The familiar image is crude but effective: if a government dares to defy Russian foreign policy, the gas is turned off in the dead of winter, as happened in Ukraine. Yet this picture is misleading….

Risk of growing corruption within the EU

A report from researchers at the University of Gothenburg, among other places, identifies six high-risk areas where corruption threatens to have far-reaching and system-threatening consequences within the EU. One of these areas is the public procurement sector, which accounts for 14 percent of the EU’s GDP. According to the European…

Eight detained in Slovakia over suspected € 7.4 million military aid fraud to Ukraine

European prosecutors suspect rigged tenders and overpriced ammunition. Four defense ministry employees are among those in custody. Eight individuals, including four officials from Slovakia’s Ministry of Defense, have been detained as part of a European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) investigation into alleged misuse of €7.4 million intended for Ukraine’s military…

NATO Procurement agency probed for corruption

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Thursday that the organization’s procurement agency is cooperating with police investigating corruption and fraud allegations involving the purchase of military equipment. The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) helps the 32 members of the world’s biggest security alliance and their partners to buy defense equipment…