Nico Schmidt
Journalist, Berlin
Nico Schmidt investigates artificial intelligence, surveillance, armaments and global supply chains for Investigate Europe. He is an AI Accountability Reporting Fellow at the Pulitzer Centre and a member of the Oxford Climate Journalism Network. His articles have appeared in Die Zeit, taz, Der Standard, Republik and Deutschlandfunk, among others. His work has been nominated for the German Reporter Award, the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize and the European Press Prize, among others. Photo credit: Kristin Bethge
Recent Works
Made in Spain: Surveillance tech banned in EU booms in India
Made in Spain: Surveillance tech banned in EU booms in India
15 July 2026
Nico Schmidt, Mayank Aggarwal (The Reporters' Collective), Ignacio Carrascón (InfoLibre)
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MEPs demand Commission scrap ‘unlawful’ secrecy on data centre environmental footprint
MEPs demand Commission scrap ‘unlawful’ secrecy on data centre environmental footprint
20 May 2026
Ella Joyner, Nico Schmidt
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How Big Tech wrote secrecy into EU law to hide data centres’ environmental toll
How Big Tech wrote secrecy into EU law to hide data centres’ environmental toll
17 April 2026
Nico Schmidt, Ella Joyner
Blocked in Europe, deployed abroad: The facial recognition system monitoring Brazil’s schoolchildren
Blocked in Europe, deployed abroad: The facial recognition system monitoring Brazil’s schoolchildren
13 March 2026
Nico Schmidt, Leonardo Coelho
Investment scammers slip through cracks in EU Big Tech law
Investment scammers slip through cracks in EU Big Tech law
15 October 2025
Mei-Ling McNamara, Nico Schmidt, Pascal Hansens, Lorenzo Buzzoni, Paula Zwolenski
Secret Spreadsheets and Stalled Shipments: The Alleged Sanctions-Busting Trail of Aircraft Parts
Secret Spreadsheets and Stalled Shipments: The Alleged Sanctions-Busting Trail of Aircraft Parts
20 February 2025
Nico Schmidt, Laurin Lorenz
Arming the world: Rheinmetall’s secretive ammunition factory program
Arming the world: Rheinmetall’s secretive ammunition factory program
19 December 2024
Attila Kálmán, Nico Schmidt
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Alarming gaps in availability of innovative drugs across the EU
Alarming gaps in availability of innovative drugs across the EU
13 June 2024
Nico Schmidt, Harald Schumann
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Needed for speed: European carmakers turn to mining to bypass China
European carmakers turn to mining to bypass China
26 October 2023
Lorenzo Buzzoni, Nico Schmidt
€7 billion is being poured into chemical recycling – is it worth it?
€7 billion is being poured into chemical recycling – is it worth it?
18 May 2023
Nico Schmidt, Attila Kálmán
Europe’s circular economy is leaking
Europe’s circular economy is leaking
26 April 2023
Nico Schmidt, Wojciech Cieśla
Burning questions remain over Europe’s waste incinerators
Burning questions remain over Europe’s waste incinerators
26 April 2023
Eurydice Bersi (Reporters United), Nico Schmidt
Energy Charter Treaty begins to unravel as EU states exit - but risks remain
Energy Charter Treaty begins to unravel as EU states exit - but risks remain
16 November 2022
Nico Schmidt
Germany prepares withdrawal from Energy Charter Treaty
Germany prepares withdrawal from Energy Charter Treaty
20 October 2022
Nico Schmidt
Media moguls and sports owners: the shipping tycoons getting rich off Russian oil
Media moguls and sports owners: the shipping tycoons getting rich off Russian oil
29 September 2022
Nico Schmidt, Amund Trellevik, Chris Matthews, Nikolas Leontopoulos, Lorenzo Buzzoni, Sotiris Sideris
How an EU guideline prevents the substitution of risky pesticides
How an EU guideline prevents the substitution of risky pesticides
27 September 2022
Nico Schmidt, Alicia Prager
Dismantling Schengen - half a year at a time
Dismantling Schengen - half a year at a time
9 September 2022
Sigrid Melchior, Pascal Hansens, Nico Schmidt, Amund Trellevik, Ingeborg Eliassen
The battle over pesticides in Europe
The battle over pesticides in Europe
23 June 2022
Harald Schumann, Nico Schmidt, Alicia Prager
Data: the true scale of Europe‘s pesticide problem remains hidden
Data: the true scale of Europe‘s pesticide problem remains hidden
23 June 2022
Nico Schmidt
The Eurodrone: An industrial project fuelled by politics
The Eurodrone: An industrial project fuelled by politics
31 March 2022
Lorenzo Buzzoni, Laure Brillaud, Nico Schmidt
The European Peace Facility, an unsecured gun on EU’s table
The European Peace Facility, an unsecured gun on EU’s table
29 March 2022
Apostolis Fotidiadis, Nico Schmidt
EU member states exported weapons to Russia after the 2014 embargo
EU member states exported weapons to Russia after the 2014 embargo
17 March 2022
Laure Brillaud, Ana Curic, Maria Maggiore, Leïla Miñano, Nico Schmidt
Energy Charter Treaty: stalled reform fuels EU fears for climate
Energy Charter Treaty: stalled reform fuels EU fears for climate
14 December 2021
Maxence Peigné, Harald Schumann, Nico Schmidt
Notes from Alpine Italy — At the Brenner Base Tunnel
Notes from Alpine Italy — At the Brenner Base Tunnel
19 November 2021
Lorenzo Buzzoni, Nico Schmidt
Jon Worth, political consultant: "The big rail companies don’t want a European rail network”
Jon Worth, political consultant: "The big rail companies don’t want a European rail network”
19 November 2021
Nico Schmidt
Why Europe abandoned its night trains
Why Europe abandoned its night trains
19 November 2021
Nico Schmidt, Juliet Ferguson
Data Analysis: Trains remain underfunded in Europe
Data Analysis: Trains remain underfunded in Europe
19 November 2021
Ana Curic, Nico Schmidt
Josef Doppelbauer, European Union Agency for Railways: "Member states must finally think European”
Josef Doppelbauer, European Union Agency for Railways: "Member states must finally think European”
19 November 2021
Nico Schmidt
Remi Boyer, Chief Human Resources Officer at Korian: "We are very dependent on public funding”
Remi Boyer, Chief Human Resources Officer at Korian: "We are very dependent on public funding”
16 July 2021
Harald Schumann, Nico Schmidt
Erik Hamann, CEO of Orpea Germany: "Our shareholders benefit from the rising share value”
Erik Hamann, CEO of Orpea Germany: "Our shareholders benefit from the rising share value”
16 July 2021
Harald Schumann, Nico Schmidt
Why a green reform of the Energy Charter Treaty is unlikely
Why a green reform of the Energy Charter Treaty is unlikely
1 March 2021
Nico Schmidt, Leïla Miñano, Boryana Dzhambazova
Energy Charter Treaty: How arbitration tribunals threaten Europe’s climate goals
Energy Charter Treaty: How arbitration tribunals threaten Europe’s climate goals
23 February 2021
Nico Schmidt
ECT data analysis: Results and Methods
ECT data analysis: Results and Methods
23 February 2021
Oliver Moldenhauer, Nico Schmidt
Markus Krajewski, professor of law: "It is not easy for the EU states to get out of the Energy Charter Treaty directly.”
Markus Krajewski, professor of law: "It is not easy for the EU states to get out of the Energy Charter Treaty directly.”
23 February 2021
Nico Schmidt
Cornelia Maarfield, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe: “The Energy Charter Treaty is a powerful tool for investors”
Cornelia Maarfield, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe: “The Energy Charter Treaty is a powerful tool for investors”
23 February 2021
Nico Schmidt
Explainer: ECT lawsuits against climate measures
Explainer: ECT lawsuits against climate measures
22 February 2021
Nico Schmidt
Loopholes and lobbies: An explainer of the European Commission’s Hydrogen strategy
Loopholes and lobbies: An explainer of the European Commission’s Hydrogen strategy
20 October 2020
Nico Schmidt, Maria Maggiore
Ansgar Ohly, German law professor: "Compulsory licenses could be a solution”
Ansgar Ohly, German law professor: "Compulsory licenses could be a solution”
20 May 2020
Nico Schmidt
Keeping them out: Europe’s governments ignore minor migrants
Keeping them out: Europe’s governments ignore minor migrants
10 March 2020
Ingeborg Eliassen, Juliet Ferguson, Stavros Malichudis, Nikolas Leontopoulos, Nico Schmidt
The forgotten people of Sea Watch 3
The forgotten people of Sea Watch 3
5 December 2019
Maria Maggiore, Nico Schmidt
Don’t speak out!
Don’t speak out!
19 November 2019
Nico Schmidt
Facebook and Google pressured EU experts
Facebook and Google pressured EU experts
19 June 2019
Nico Schmidt, Daphné Dupont-Nivet
Far-right groups shout the loudest on social media
Far-right groups shout the loudest on social media
3 April 2019
Nico Schmidt