Help us block the revolving door!

There has never been a more important time to ensure that the EU's top decision-makers are free from possible conflicts of interest. We need your donations, however big or small, to help us raise €4000 so that we can sound the alarm on the risks of the revolving door and demand that the EU institutions implement tough new rules to tackle the risk of conflicts of interest.

Members of the new European parliament and commission will start to take office in the coming weeks and months and they will be in place for five years, making decisions on austerity, trade, the environment and many other issues which will affect all of us as EU citizens. Meanwhile ex-commissioners and MEPs will start hunting for new jobs. Corporate Europe Observatory must step-up its campaign to expose and challenge the revolving door between the EU institutions and the lobby industry and the potential conflicts of interest which can arise.

Where we stand

Five years ago when the commission and parliament last changed, too many commissioners, senior EU staff and MEPs went through the revolving door to industry lobby jobs provoking the real risk of conflicts of interest.

Unfortunately we expect similar scandals in 2014. CEO has already exposed the case of Pavel Telička who is a former tobacco lobbyist and is in the running to become the new Czech candidate commissioner. Meanwhile an outgoing Dutch MEP has just joined the board of insurance giant Aegon.

The revolving door phenomenon has a potentially very harmful impact on EU decision-making and can help to tip the balance in favour of big business. Whether it is on climate, finance, energy or a wealth of other issues, corporate lobbyists have succeeded in poaching important EU decision-makers - and the insider know-how, contacts and influence which go with them.

Why we need your help

In the critical months ahead, CEO will step-up its work to monitor the entrances and exits of the EU's top decision-makers and staff, through new investigative work and creative outreach activities, including:

  • RevolvingDoorWatch project. We will monitor the moves of those who are now joining and leaving the EU institutions and expose any risks of conflicts of interest via our on-line database and blog.

  • Crowd-sourcing research. Every EU member state will nominate a commissioner and we will work with partners across Europe to screen these nominations, share intelligence and to promote relevant cases to national-level media, in local languages where necessary.

  • E-action. When the time is right, we will aim to launch an e-action and new materials to highlight the worst cases and to demand improved revolving door rules.

  • MEP outreach. We will organise guided lobby tours for new MEPs and their assistants, explaining the phenomenon of the revolving door and its impact on EU decision-making. We will ensure MEPs are well-briefed before they quiz the commissioner nominees.

With your support we can fight back against the cosy relationship between big business and our politicians and public officials. Please donate today.

The CEO team.

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Image by Parimal Satyal via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)