Patient Groups in Lobby Register

During one of DG Trade's recent meetings with civil society, I raised CEO's concerns about the privileged access given to big business interests by the Commission when developing trade policy. The reply from Director General, David O'Sullivan, was surprisingly frank.

ALTER-EU's new report, 'A captive Commission – the role of the financial industry in shaping EU regulation' which was launched last week, shows that most of the so-called 'expert groups' advising the EU Commission on financial market regulation are dominated by industry lobbyists. More than 80% of the non-governmental 'experts' in these advisory groups represent big banks and investment funds.

In a speech in Davos, South African President Jacob Zuma, host of the international climate talks scheduled to take place in Durban later this year, urged business to be a party at the talks and play a bigger role. His comments will have been welcomed by business leaders, particularly the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) who have long campaigned for greater involvement.

Business Agenda Threatens Livelihoods of Millions Brussels / Delhi: The livelihoods of millions of small farmers, street traders and patients are at risk under the terms of a new trade deal being negotiated by the EU and India which has been hijacked by big business, a new joint report from Corporate Europe Observatory and India FDI Watch reveals [1].

Highways cutting through protected nature areas in Europe? Privatised forests and ugly houses in what was until now a common area of natural beauty? As long as the company building it pays to 'protect' other area in a remote place. This is what biodiversity offsets are about. Just one of the things the European Commission is proposing together with business under the name of green economy. Twenty years after the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, governments will once again converge on Rio for the third UN Summit on Sustainable Development from the 20-22 June.