Transport

Germany will shortly take over the EU Council Presidency at a critical time. A new report looks at the German Government’s record in its own EU decision-making and exposes how time and again it is too close to corporate interests.

EU Watchdog Radio is a new podcast hosted jointly by CEO and Counter Balance. In the third episode, Nicholas Hildyard, UK-based researcher and activist of NGO The Corner House, gives some fascinating insights in the world of logistics.

China is flexing its soft power in Europe, cultivating networks of think tanks and lobbyists, in particular to promote its flagship programme the 'New Silk Road'. Meanwhile European failures in lobby transparency mean these influencing activities take place far beyond the light of public scrutiny.

The EU is about to adopt new rules that will help trade in securitised loans, the very financial instruments that helped cause the 2008 financial crisis. Despite warning signs of a new 'subprime bubble' in car loans coming from the US, carmakers and financiers have lobbied the EU to make it easier to speculate on such loans.

This week marks the two-year anniversary of one of the most serious cases of corporate fraud in modern history: the Dieselgate scandal. In September 2015, car manufacturer Volkswagen was caught red-handed in the use of ‘defeat devices’ - software enabling its diesel cars to pass pollution emissions tests, while actually exceeding EU pollution limits by more than ten times once on the road.

The final inquiry report of the European Parliament's 'Dieselgate' committee is about to highlight just how widespread emissions cheating has been among manufacturers, and lines up recommendations for curbing excessive car industry influence over emissions regulations.

‘Dieselgate’ was the result of corporate-driven deregulation. Our new report takes a look at the complicity of the Commission's 'Better Regulation' agenda and at the way member states and European institutions have turned a blind eye to industry-wide abuse.

New study on the Commission's legislative advisory groups highlights a continuing Big Business bias - despite Commission's new rules.

After nine months of hearings, the draft report of the EU Parliament’s inquiry into the Dieselgate scandal has it black on white: the European Commission and EU member states had known since 2004-05 that diesel cars’ nitrogen oxide emissions were far above legal limits – yet neither took action.

The International Civil Aviation Organization is expected to agree a new climate deal at its current assembly meeting. But its promise of “carbon neutral” flying through voluntary carbon offsetting is delusive, posing new threats to the environment and communities.

A rare glimpse into the lobbying strategies of the car industry.

In the wake of Volkswagen’s diesel emissions scandal, Corporate Europe Observatory has obtained documents that show how the car industry has continued to undermine Europe’s proposed new emissions test standards.