Articles

An interesting documentary on Dutch television yesterday showed the massive influence of the car lobby in EU capital Brussels. The car lobby uses a range of different tactics, including some that come close to influence peddling. MEP Malcolm Harbour, who has a strong say in Parliamentary decision-making on environmental standards for cars, routinely borrows luxurious new cars for 'test-drives', accepts invitations to attend grandprix racing events and other treats courtesy of the car industry.

CEO and other civil society groups have called upon the European Commission to act against the secretive information policy of its trade department. In an open letter to President Barroso, Trade Commissioner Ashton, Transparency Commissioner Kallas and Communication Commissioner Wallström, the organisations criticised an internal DG Trade memo, which encourages staff to conceal information about meetings with lobbyists in case of access to information requests.

Over sixty organizations from across the world have signed an open letter to the participants of the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS) calling for it to be abandoned. Your organisation can sign this letter by sending a message to Claire Robinson . More information about the RTRS can be found in the attached Q&A. Letter of critical opposition to the “Round Table on Responsible Soy" April 2009 We, the undersigned, call for the abandonment of the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), on the following grounds:

With the European Parliament elections now just five weeks away, the first election posters have started appearing in cities across Europe. As it becomes clear who will run for (re-)election, it also emerges who is stepping down from being an MEP. Many will return to national politics, retire or look for a new job. What will be really interesting to watch in the coming weeks and months is which of the current MEPs will go through the revolving door into new jobs as industry lobbyists.

A month ago we praised European Commissioner Kallas in this blog for his insistence that think tanks must join the lobby transparency register, as their activities are aimed clearly at influencing EU decision-making.

After a few decades of breathtaking deregulation, the worst crisis since the 1930s has left the major players in a state of utter embarrassment. The big financial corporations from Lehman Brothers and AIG to Northern Rock and Hypo Real Estate have wreaked so much havoc that the entire financial sector has ended up in the dock. The money heroes of the past are now being branded as unscrupulous speculators, and judgment is under way. One burning question is being asked again and again: Who is responsible for the crisis?

GM Toxic soy is not 'responsible'! Can genetically engineered soy - grown with large amounts of agri-chemicals - ever be called 'responsible'? You probably consider this to be impossible. The damage that Monsanto's Roundup Ready soy has done in countries such as Argentina and Paraguay is enormous. Despite that, by the end of May this very same soy will be labelled 'responsible' by the Round Table on Responsible Soy.

19 March 2009, Brussels. As we have seen, EU agrofuel policy has spurred a number of initiatives supposedly aimed at bringing ‘sustainable’ agrofuels to the market over the past few years. These efforts have been used to try and justify the 10% agrofuel target.