The letter calls on the Commission to explain how it vets companies before awarding them financial support. A group of 39 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from four different political groups has demanded urgent explanations from the European Commission after revelations that EU and national taxpayers' money was used to finance companies linked to spyware development. In a letter sent to senior EU officials - including Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, Commissioner Michael McGrath, and Commissioner Piotr Serafin - the lawmakers referred to recent investigative reports indicating that companies such as Intellexa, Cy4Gate, Verint and Cognite received subsidies through EU programmes. These firms' technologies, however, have been tied to unlawful surveillance of journalists, human rights defenders and political figures within the EU, as well as in countries with troubling human rights records. The MEPs warned that the...