• Ahold: RTRS certified soy means no improvement in soy production.

    At the doorstep of Ahold’s sustainability office in Amsterdam, speakers from various organisations like FIAN (Netherlands) and Wervel (Belgium) highlighted the major flaws of the certification approach. In an indoors conversation beforehand, Byrnes had to admit that the only ‘advantage’ of participating in the Roundtable is ‘to be talking’ with the soy producers. But the criteria, which took 6 years to negotiate and millions of development aid, do not mean any step forward in terms of reducing the environmental and social impacts of soy monocultures.

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  • Breaking with fear in Greece

    “The streets of Athens erupted with some of the worst rioting and political violence seen in the country in years.” “Rioting Greeks torched buildings and looted dozens of shops as they battled police in central Athens to protest harsh austerity measures.” These were some of the headlines of the global corporate media about last Sunday’s demonstrations in Greece, often accompanied by photos of burned down buildings.

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  • Complaint to the European Central Bank

    To the Executive Board of the European Central Bank Concerning the President’s membership of the Group of Thirty. This letter is to complain about the about the European Central Bank’s response to my letter (on behalf of Corporate Europe Observatory) about ECB President Draghi’s membership of the Group of Thirty which failed to adequately address the concerns I raised. In my letter to President Draghi of 28 November 2011 (see below), I highlighted the conflicts between the President’s responsibilities as head of the European Central Bank and his membership of the Group of Thirty.

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  • Food safety decided by industry-linked experts?

    Brussels, 14 February 2012 – The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) comes under attack in a new report published today by Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) and Earth Open Source (EOS), showing that it relies on industry data and industry-linked experts to assess food safety, raising serious questions about the independence of its advice [1].

    The report comes as EFSA, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, is under scrutiny from the European Court of Auditors, MEPs, and is undergoing an official evaluation by the European Commission.

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  • CEO supports today's strike in Belgium

    The strike organised by Belgian trade unions today is a very important statement against the austerity policies that are currently introduced in Belgium and across Europe, causing social injustice and deepening the economic crisis. The unions very clearly emphasise the problematic role of the EU which, as the ABVV-FGTB union states, "forces the member states into a blind austerity policy". The strike happens on the day where EU leaders meet for a two-day summit in Brussels to agree on a new EU treaty that will take further sweeping steps in imposing rigid budget discipline and austerity policies across the continent. Strikes like the one today and other forms of citizens' protests are exactly what is needed to save European welfare states and prevent the crisis from spiralling out of control.

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  • Austerity Treaty: no democracy without referendums

    Within days a new legal creature will most likely have taken its final shape: an EU treaty that is not really an EU treaty. European Union rules stipulate that new treaties have to be approved by all member states, so with the UK vetoing the proposals, member state governments chose to be creative.

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  • What are bankers doing inside EU summits?

    Crucial decisions “to save the Euro” and “to save Greece” were made at the Euro Summits in July and October 2011. While the decision making process was taking place, the press reported several informal negotiations between EU leaders and the banks, mostly represented by the Institute of International Finance (IIF). What was exactly the role of this lobby group in the final decisions? And what did it get from the deal?

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  • Banks profit on hunger

    European banks, pension funds and insurance companies are increasing global hunger and poverty by speculating on food prices and financing land grabs in poorer countries, according to Farming Money, a new report just released.

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  • 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.

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  • Dieter Helm: independent advice on the Energy Roadmap 2050?

    There are mounting expectations for the Commission's Energy Roadmap 2050, which is due to be published tomorrow (Tuesday 13 December). Though not an official policy document, the Roadmap will assess how the EU could reach a reduction of over 80% of its emissions by 2050 through different energy scenarios. This will of course have a substantial impact on future energy infrastructure and on the kind of subsidies available, with potentially lots of money at stake. Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) has found a number of reasons to be concerned about the independence of the advice being given to the Commission when developing the Roadmap.

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