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.

ALTER-EU im Kampf um Datenschutz

06.05.2013

The battle for data privacy sets digital rights activists against what Commission Vice-President Reding describes as some of the most aggressive industry lobbying she has ever witnessed. Areas of ALTER-EU's work that are important in the fight for data privacy are the demand for a mandatory lobbying register to end lobbying secrecyand shutting the revolving door for employees between EU institutions and private lobbying firms.

Leaked OLAF report on Dalli case flawed and inconclusive

29.04.2013

On Sunday 28 April 2013, OLAF’s investigation report on the Dalli case was published on the website of the newspaper Malta Today. After a first reading of the report (of which two pages appear to be missing), read Corporate Europe Observatory's first observations.

Standing up to big business lobbies: ALTER-EU's annual assembly and public debate

16.04.2013

CEO has reported a lot about Dalligate, the tobacco cash-for-influence lobby scandal that led to the downfall, in mysterious and contested circumstances, of former health Commissioner John Dalli. One of the reasons Dalligate is such a juicy affair is that it starkly illustrates the problems with voluntary lobby transparency and with inadequate management of the conflicts of interest that arise from the revolving-door – public officials becoming big business lobbyists, and vice versa.

We Need to Talk About Expert Groups...

27.03.2013

It seems like the Commission does not want the public to know about the recent progress it has made in stopping big business dominating its 'expert groups'. It has produced an update but won't make it public. However, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), on behalf of the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU), has obtained a copy of the Commission's latest efforts. In short, the Commission has fallen well short of the promises of reform it made to Parliament.

Pressure grows for Dalligate truth: CEO complaints on Swedish Match and OLAF

27.03.2013

The Dalligate scandal entered a new stage last week when Swedish Match admitted that they knew a key lobby meeting with Mr. Dalli, where the alleged 60 million euro bribe was offered, had not in fact taken place, and claimed that it was EU anti-fraud agency OLAF that had instructed them to stick to the erroneous story.

European Commission's “Petite problem” investigated

19.03.2013

Ombudsman Investigates Big Tobacco Lobbyist on EU Ethics Panel. Press Release from LobbyControl, Corporate Accountability International and Corporate Europe Observatory. The European Ombudsman is now investigating the European Commission's reappointment of a high-profile revolving door case, Michel Petite, the former head of the Commission's Legal Service-turned-lawyer for Big Tobacco, to the ad hoc ethical committee, which advises on Commissioners going through the revolving door.

Ombudsman launches investigation into European Commission’s Dalligate secrecy

06.03.2013

The EU Ombudsman has launched an investigation into the European Commission's secrecy around 'Dalligate', the tobacco lobbying scandal that led to the forced resignation of health Commissioner John Dalli.

Transformation needed for Transparency: Looking towards the lobby register review

26.02.2013

In September last year, CEO submitted four complaints to the Transparency Register's secretariat about entries that broke the rules. We're now facing the two year review of the lobby register, and signs of real political level debate and transformation are not promising. What can the results of our complaints, last year's public consultation on the register and its annual report, tell us about the voluntary lobby register's progress so far? And what is needed to ensure a transformation towards true transparency?

Das Brüssel Business – Wer leitet eigentlich die EU?

06.04.2012

In Österreich ist am 16. März ein neuer Film präsentiert worden, der die Macht der Industrielobby in Brüssel beleuchtet.
Die Regisseure haben sich schon am Anfang ihres Projektes mit Corporate Europe Observatory in Verbidung gesetzt. Der Film zeigt die Geschichte des Einflusses der Industrielobby in der EU seit den 1980er Jahren. Unserer ersten Arbeit wird darin viel Raum und Aufmerksamkeit gegeben.

Budget negotiations: cut industry subsidies, not public interest research!

21.02.2013

In this open letter to Members of the European Parliament and Member States of the EU, 20 organisations such as the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU), the farmers' union La Via Campesina or the European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility ask that the €10 billion budget cut foreseen to the EU' 2014-2020 Research budget (called Horizon 2020) only affect industry subsidies that will mainly go to large multinational companies, not public interest research which is vital for Europe's future.

Crowdsourced lobby exposé shows Internet giants have footprints on our data privacy laws

18.02.2013

One of the biggest lobby offensives in recent years has been raining down on Brussels, as American internet giants have taken fright at the prospect of new data privacy laws proposed for the EU. But it turns out that an alarmed Amazon or enraged eBay are aggressive animals, with friends in high places. The result of this massive lobby effort has been revealed by a new crowdsourced lobby transparency project, LobbyPlag, which shows how MEPs have copy-pasted amendments written by IT multinationals directly into the EU’s new data protection law.

EU Ombudsman launches investigation into Commission’s alleged failure to curb conflicts of interest via the revolving door

14.02.2013

The European Ombudsman has launched an investigation into the European Commission's alleged failure to prevent conflicts of interest among staff as a result of the revolving door - where EU staff take up jobs with lobby firms and vice versa.