Whether you live in Berlin, Budapest or Bilbao, decisions made in the committee rooms and corridors of Brussels will affect your life. But how these decisions are made, often remains secret. Investigate Europe’s reporters help shed light on the processes that matter to all Europeans.

For many, the political system of the European Union is an intangible web of institutions, political affiliations and officialdom. A bureaucratic juggernaut controlled from a nerve-centre in Brussels, which connects the 27 member states. It is from there that the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission set the laws that govern our lives. It is the place where politicians, officials and lobbyists converse in little-known acronyms working to influence legislation and push forward political agendas.

Investigate Europe’s reporters are here to demystify the legalese and bring transparency to the “trilogue” among the three institutions. Our EU affairs project takes you inside the negotiations of the laws that affect us all. We publish stories that get to the heart of EU decision-making, explain how political agreements inked in Brussels matter to ordinary Europeans, and shine a light on the critical issues of our time.
 
The project started life by scrutinising the Council of the European Union, an institution where the 27 EU governments debate, amend and adopt laws behind closed doors, avoiding the public scrutiny. Now we have expanded the focus to reflect our increased footprint in Brussels and as a home for our many strands of reporting about the Union. And with European elections on the horizon, we believe critical, cross-border perspectives that hold EU power to account are needed now more than ever. Welcome!