fact checking

Mostly false: “While countries all over the world are switching to green energy, Belgium stays behind. Already, our energy bill is the third most expensive of Europe”

The political party Groen (the Flemish green party) claims that Belgium is way behind when it comes to green energy. They also say our energy bill is ranked the third most expensive in Europe. Groen mentions this claim on both Facebook and in an article on their website. The party repeats the claim multiple times,…

Read more

Mostly true: „Between 25.000 to 30.000 lobbyists“ are working in Brussels

In an article on the Viennese online news portal, www.vienna.at, Julia Herr, Austrian Social Democratic Party candidate for the European parliament election, was recently quoted, that there were supposedly „between 25.000 to 30.000 lobbyists“ working in Brussels. According to the article, Herr had made this claim on March 5th, 2019 during a discussion on the…

Read more

False: “The increased homophobia in The Netherlands is caused by uncontrolled immigration and open borders”

  On March the 4th Dutch leader of the right-wing Forum for Democracy Thierry Baudet reacted to a statement by liberal politician Rob Jetten about homophobia in The Netherlands. Baudet stated on Twitter: ,,Jetten’s anger about the increased homophobia in The Netherlands is justified, but he doesn’t see the causes: the uncontrolled immigration and the…

Read more
fact-check uncheckable

Uncheckable: “4,000 EU officials are paid more than Merkel”

According to a Daily Express article, thousands of EU officials are earning more than 290.000 a year, which is more than German Chancellor Angela Merkel. We rate the claim as uncheckable.   The salaries of EU officials have been a wildly debated topic over the years. Last month, the Daily Express reported on the German…

Read more
fact-check uncheckable

Uncheckable: “The addendum to the EU-Morocco Agreement does not comply with the decision made by the EU Court of Justice”

On 15 January 2019, Merja Kyllönen, the Member of the European Parliament, questioned the legality of the EU-Morocco Agreement in her tweet. According to her, an addendum to the agreement does not comply with the decision made by the Court of Justice of the European Union regarding the adjacent waters of Western Sahara. The claim…

Read more
fact checking

Mostly false: “Sign EU-petition to stop punishment of aid to migrants”

Reinier van Lanschot, party leader of the new, pan-European party Volt – and probable new member of the European Parliament – claims on Twitter that migrant aid is punished in several European member states. Subsequently, he asks his followers to sign a European citizen initiative to make an end to this. However, punishment of migrant…

Read more
fact-check uncheckable

Uncheckable: “Finland has the loosest family reunification policy of all the Nordic countries”

On 21 January, Finnish parliament member Olli Immonen stated in his blog that “Finland currently has the loosest asylum policy in the Nordic countries when it comes to, for example, family reunification.” Our research shows that norms and practices related to asylum policies are so complex that it is not possible to make a reliable…

Read more