Investigate Europe operates as a cross-border journalism cooperative with reporters across 12 European countries, including Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The organization, based in Berlin, emerged from the eurozone debt crisis when European media outlets failed to provide adequate cross-border coverage of the financial emergency.
Founded in 2016 as a pilot project by nine journalists, Investigate Europe has grown into a legal cooperative with over 20 members. The organization's distinctive approach involves journalists researching simultaneously on shared topics, comparing findings to eliminate national bias, then publishing results in their respective local media and through multilingual channels.
Recent investigations illustrate the cooperative's scope. A 2025 project tracked how European-developed biometric software has been deployed in Brazil's education system. Another recent inquiry exposed unregulated online casinos being advertised on major chatbot platforms across Europe. Earlier projects examined Microsoft's influence on European systems, nursing home conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the financial power wielded by BlackRock in Europe. The organization has also investigated pharmaceutical industry transparency and documented over 60,000 landfills across the continent.
The cooperative prioritizes depth over speed, with investigations often spanning several months. Funding comes from foundations including the Rudolf Augstein Foundation and Fritt Ord, supplemented by donations and revenue from media partnerships. This financial model underpins the organization's editorial independence and its ability to pursue investigations that individual national outlets might overlook.