A Lobby Guide to the UN climate talks

In her Survival guide to EU lobbying Caroline De Cock, an experienced EU lobbyist, calls senior ex-officials who go through the revolving door into commercial lobbying “door-openers” and she writes “They can be of great value, by opening the door to people and offices that would otherwise remain unattainable to your lobbying efforts”.

A letter was sent by Testbiotech and Corporate Europe Observatory to the member states regarding Management Board of EFSA. The letter is about the case of Mella Frewen, who was nominated by the European Commission to the EFSA Management Board. Mella Frewen's previous positions include Director for Government Affairs, Europe, Middle East & Africa, for Monsanto, where she dealt with a number of issues including agricultural biotechnology and agro-chemistry. We believe that the appointment of Mella Frewen will create conflicts of interest within the food agency's management board.

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.

There are mounting expectations for the Commission's Energy Roadmap 2050, which is due to be published tomorrow (Tuesday 13 December). Though not an official policy document, the Roadmap will assess how the EU could reach a reduction of over 80% of its emissions by 2050 through different energy scenarios. This will of course have a substantial impact on future energy infrastructure and on the kind of subsidies available, with potentially lots of money at stake. Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) has found a number of reasons to be concerned about the independence of the advice being given to the Commission when developing the Roadmap.