EU institutions

Brussels is at the centre of EU decision-making and as such attracts thousands of lobbyists promoting the interests of big business. In this section you can find basic information about this corporate lobbying and how it affects you as a citizen. Or you can visit our specific pages on the revolving door phenomenon of politicians who become lobbyists – and vice versa – and on the corporate dominance of expert groups whose advice helps make official policy for the EU.

If you want to investigate corporate lobbying, we have put together a list of online tools that can help.

Barroso Challenged on Expert Groups

http://www.corporateeurope.org/docs/expertgroups/Letter-to-Barroso&Kalla...

No progress on membership transparency has been made so far and the Commission is on the breach of breaking the deadline it set for itself.

ALTER-EU also wrote to Commissioners Verheugen, Potocnik, Piebalgs, Vassiliou and Dimas to ask them how are they going to address specific cases of Expert Groups dominated by business interests in breach with the Commission's own codes of conduct.

Secrecy and corporate dominance

Industry lobbyists are dominating parts of the European law-making process, campaigners warned today (March 25) on the back of a new report analysing the membership of a number of Commission Expert Groups. Researchers also warn that the European Commission is impeding public accountability, by failing to reveal details of who sits on the Groups.