Lobbying the EU

How vulnerable are the EU institutions to undue corporate influence, and what gaps exist in EU lobbying and ethics rules?

Food lobbyists look set to join EFSA’s board

07.05.2014

According to several EU sources, member states’ diplomats in the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) this morning pre-selected a food industry lobbyist to become a member of the board of the EU Food Safety Authority (EFSA). This is Mr Jan Mousing, a director at the Danish Agriculture & Food Council, a lobby group representing the interests of the Danish food industry.

CEO submits Ombudsman complaint about EU Commission's failure to implement UN tobacco lobby rules

07.05.2014

Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) has today submitted a formal complaint to the EU Ombudsman about the European Commission's failure to properly implement UN rules for contacts with tobacco lobbyists. The EU is a signatory to the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), which obliges governments to limit interactions with the tobacco industry and ensure the transparency of those interactions that occur.

Democracy is nobody's business - MEPs pledge to stand up for people over profit

15.04.2014

At the end of May the whole of Europe will be going to the ballot box for the 2014 European Parliament elections. But when the votes are counted and members-to-be (MEPs) take their place, who are they going to represent – people or profit?

The MEPs who became corporate lobbyists

31.03.2014

In the run-up to the European elections in late May, many members of the European Parliament (MEPs) will be considering their future careers. If experiences from the end of the previous parliamentary term in 2009 are any indication, many will be approached by lobby firms and industry groups hoping to entice them through the revolving door: the route from the European Parliament to Brussels' for-profit lobby circles is a well-trodden path.

Single market

The “Permanent Liaison”: how ERT and BusinessEurope set the agenda for the EU Summit

20.03.2014

The issue of 'competitiveness' will be dominating the discussions at the European Council Summit that takes place on 20-21 March. An important theme for big business as measures in this field are, while attacking citizen's rights, generally in line with industry's interests. Therefore, in the past months, major industry lobby groups ERT and BusinessEurope have been bent on exerting their influence on the agenda and discussions of first the Competitiveness Council meeting and then the EU Summit – and seem to have succeeded.

Food lobby fights labelling of nano ingredients

10.03.2014

A discreet but important lobbying battle is currently being fought in Brussels over the labelling of nano ingredients in food products. A European Commission text would completely betray a 2011 regulation by only labelling new additives. The Parliament is attempting to block their text which waters down the label requirements, while the food additives industry is lobbying to stop the Parliament; the vote is 12 March.

Lobbycracy showcase: 19 EU countries against, 5 in favour of GM maize. Commission sides with the 5

17.02.2014

The story of the Pioneer GM maize crop has culminated in the biggest controversy on genetic modification (GM) issues in years. On Tuesday 11 February a record number of 19 EU countries declared themselves to be opposed to Pioneer's GM maize being authorised for cultivation in the EU. This included the Netherlands, Romania and Ireland, all of whom were expected to either vote in favour or abstain just before the vote. Only five countries said they were in favour (among them the UK, Spain and Sweden) and the rest abstained.

ALTER-EU asks MEP candidates to 'stand-up' against excessive lobbying by big business

17.02.2014

At the moment, too many European citizens feel alienated from the decisions made in Brussels. And that is not surprising. Big corporations, lobby consultancies and law firms spend hundreds of millions of euros every year to ensure that EU policy-making meets the needs of big business and not the public interest – and it works.

What are you hiding? The opacity of the EU-US trade talks

17.02.2014

While Commissioner De Gucht claims that “there is nothing secret” about the ongoing EU-US trade talks, notes of Commission meetings with business lobbyists released to CEO under the EU’s freedom of information law were heavily censored.

Take a virtual lobby tour

30.01.2014

A new tool for smartphones offers you a quick virtual lobby tour around the EU bubble in Brussels. CounterBalance and Corporate Europe Observatory have created this virtual trip to the EU quarter, a real lobbying paradise and home of a 30.000 man strong lobby army.

ALTER-EU verdict on the review of the EU Transparency Register: “hugely disappointing”

27.01.2014

Transparency campaigners cannot find a single area of “good progress” made by the review group to improve the EU’s lobby register, according to a scorecard published today by ALTER-EU. The scorecard assesses the outcome of the recent EU Transparency Register review process against ALTER-EU's own recommendations for reform. The assessment has been made after receiving leaked copies of the final outcome of the review process.

“Stop 2014 being year of revolving door!” say transparency campaigners

21.01.2014

The Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU) has today urged President Barroso to put in place new rules to prevent the current crop of European commissioners from going through the revolving door in 2014. As the Barroso II Commission nears the end of its term in office, transparency campaigners believe that the cooling-off period which applies to former commissioners taking on lobby jobs should be extended from 18 months to three years to prevent a repeat of the conflict of interest scandals which dogged the end of the Barroso I Commission.

Lobbying the EU

Food lobbyists look set to join EFSA’s board

CEO submits Ombudsman complaint about EU Commission's failure to implement UN tobacco lobby rules

Democracy is nobody's business - MEPs pledge to stand up for people over profit

The MEPs who became corporate lobbyists

The “Permanent Liaison”: how ERT and BusinessEurope set the agenda for the EU Summit

Food lobby fights labelling of nano ingredients

Lobbycracy showcase: 19 EU countries against, 5 in favour of GM maize. Commission sides with the 5

ALTER-EU asks MEP candidates to 'stand-up' against excessive lobbying by big business

What are you hiding? The opacity of the EU-US trade talks

Take a virtual lobby tour

ALTER-EU verdict on the review of the EU Transparency Register: “hugely disappointing”

“Stop 2014 being year of revolving door!” say transparency campaigners

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