Agribusiness lobbying in Brussels involves biotech, food, animal feed, agrofuel and pesticide producers targeting decision makers to weaken regulations or to get subsidies.

CEO’s work on agribusiness lobbying has focused for instance on stopping the EU’s 10% agrofuel target, exposing lobbying by the food industry to weaken food labeling, and by the animal feed industry to weaken GMO rules, questioning the industry bias of EU food safety agency EFSA, and highlighting how private industry-NGO initiatives like the Round Table on Responsible Soy provide a greenwashing opportunity for the GMO industry. We have also filed a complaint with the European Ombudsman about the industry-dominated European Biofuels Technology Platform (EBFTP), which advises the European Commission on how to spend millions of research funding to further develop agrofuels.

EFSA's new policy fails to ban experts with industry links

The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) new independence policy allows the possible subversion of scientific advice by industry’s vested interests, Corporate Europe Observatory said following publication of the policy on Wednesday. It is due for approval by the EFSA Management Board when it meets tomorrow in Warsaw.

Submitted by Helen Burley on December 14, 2011 - 17:11

What you should know about EFSA - in 3 minutes

CEO publishes a new educational tool explaining some of the major problems at EFSA, the agency responsible for scientific advice on food safety to the EU institutions. A 3 minutes animation allows you to find out more how EFSA operates and to what extent this benefits the big food, biotech and pesticides corporations such as Monsanto, Syngenta, Unilever, Nestlé... Are EFSA's experts and management independent from industry? What role does industry play in EFSA food safety tests? Doesn't EFSA look at other, independent research on these products? Available in French and English. Please pass it on and use this widely in your networks!

Submitted by Nina Holland on December 9, 2011 - 12:31

Approving the GM potato: conflicts of interest, flawed science and fierce lobbying

In March 2010, the European Commission approved BASF's genetically modified Amflora potato for cultivation in the European Union. CEO has investigated the background to this decision, including the controversial scientific advice provided by the European Food Safety Authority on the use of antibiotic resistant marker genes. CEO found that more than half of EFSA's GMO panel had conflicts of interest, as defined by the OECD. Their advice, which contravened WHO guidelines, contributed to the approval of the GM potato - and is likely to lead to the approval of similar GM crops in the near future.

Submitted by David Leloup on November 7, 2011 - 11:31

EU food additive experts fail to declare links with food industry

Two experts from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in charge of evaluating food additives, including aspartame, have failed to report active collaborations with ILSI, a scientific lobby group funded by the food industry – major user of additives and aspartame. EFSA rules on conflicts of interest require these experts to report such activities. After a similar scandal in June, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) and Réseau Environnement Santé (RES – French Network on Health and Environment) are calling on EFSA to dismiss the two scientists and for the Commission to adopt much stricter rules to curb the epidemic of conflicts of interest that exists within EFSA.

Submitted by Helen Burley on September 13, 2011 - 11:10

European Commission expected to approve seven biofuels certification schemes without public scrutiny

Brussels, 18 July 2011 – The European Commission is expected to tomorrow (19/7/11) release the names of seven voluntary certification schemes approved to certify biofuels according to the ‘sustainability criteria’ set out in the Renewable Energy Directive. This follows a lawsuit filed by environmental law organisation ClientEarth, Friends of the Earth Europe (FOEE), FERN and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) against the Commission's refusal to provide access to information regarding the approval of such schemes.

Submitted by Nina Holland on July 18, 2011 - 12:00

Biotech lobby targets the EU's research and agriculture funds

Late in the afternoon of 31st May, on the 7th floor in the European Parliament in Brussels, the biotech lobby group EuropaBio organised a lobbying event on “The Bioeconomy for Europe – Innovating for Sustainability”. The meeting was chaired by the right-wing Finnish MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen (EPP). The audience was mostly composed of Commission officials, MEP assistants and EuropaBio members.

Submitted by Martin Pigeon on June 29, 2011 - 12:00

Commission sued for lack of transparency

Brussels, May 26, 2011 – The European Commission was sued today, accused of violating European transparency laws. Environmental law organisation ClientEarth, Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE), FERN and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) filed the lawsuit following the Commission’s refusal to provide access to information in decisions relating to the sustainability of Europe’s biofuels policy [1].

Submitted by Helen Burley on May 26, 2011 - 12:36