Corporate sponsoring of Green Week

Earlier this month, representatives from the automotive, financial services and digital economy industries were joined by MEPs and EU Commission president José Manuel Barroso at a “networking cocktail” to relaunch three “MEP-industry forums” in the new Parliament. These corporate-funded forums seldom declare who they are funded by and are frequently run by big Brussels-based lobby groups and consultancies. When interviewed by CEO TV, industry members deny that these forums are used for lobbying. Some MEPs, however, acknowledge that they are lobbying vehicles serving industry interests.

A luxurious venue, corporate propaganda in the corridors, co-optation of the co-organisers, lobbyists in the room, civil society hardly present and heavy-weight politicians on stage: welcome to Syngenta's 4th Forum for the Future of Agriculture.

 

 

 

 

Civil society groups today urged the European Commission and Indian Government to halt free trade negotiations, scheduled to continue in Delhi tomorrow. In an open letter, signed by more than 100 groups, they warned that the talks would damage the livelihoods of millions of people in both India and Europe, exacerbating poverty and undermining economic and social development.

An army of several hundred industry lobbyists, many representing Japanese and North American corporations, has quietly laid siege to Brussels in an effort to persuade the European Union (EU) not to ban powerful greenhouse gases known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) present in Europe’s refrigeration and air conditioning systems.