Reports
December 9, 2011 - 12:31
CEO publishes a new educational tool explaining some of the major problems at EFSA, the agency responsible for scientific advice on food
safety to the EU institutions.
A 3 minutes animation allows you to find out more how EFSA operates and to what extent this benefits the big food, biotech and pesticides corporations such as Monsanto, Syngenta, Unilever, Nestlé... Are EFSA's experts and management independent from industry? What role does industry play in EFSA food safety tests? Doesn't EFSA look at other, independent research on these products?
Available in French and English. Please pass it on and use this widely in your networks!
December 8, 2011 - 15:10
The Commission recently put forward a proposal to curb the lethal volatility in food prices by addressing speculation. But preparations of new legislation have been dominated by the financial lobby, and they've had an impact. Effective measures seem far away.
December 6, 2011 - 16:11
Brussels, 7 December 2011 – Eight new cases illustrating the extent of Brussels' revolving door problem are exposed today with the launch of the Corporate Europe Observatory's new RevolvingDoorWatch.
The eight cases feature individuals who have moved through the revolving door from the European institutions, including the Commission, into private sector lobbying jobs – apparently without the proper checks or adequate restrictions being imposed.
December 5, 2011 - 19:00
The European Union's multi-billion research funding programme is supposed to help society meet the grand challenges it faces. But there is concern that the participation of large corporations is skewing research agendas towards narrow interest, and leading to the substitution of public for private funding. Will the EU's new Research Program, Horizon 2020, avoid these pitfalls?
December 1, 2011 - 18:39
CEO recently met with officials at DG Markt to discuss their use of expert advisors. Read our analysis of what DG Markt has done to change the balance of expert groups – and find out more about the problems that still remain.
November 23, 2011 - 19:45
The “revolving door” – which appears to link the EU institutions directly to the private sector, allowing employees to move almost effortlessly between the two – is at the heart of the close relationship between the EU institutions and Brussels’ lobby industry.
November 10, 2011 - 14:57
Across the world, corporate lawyers have taken full advantage of an unjust investment regime to make multinationals sue sovereign governments for millions of Euros. At great personal financial gain, they have actively pursued cases, exploited loopholes and created an explosion in the number and costs of dispute settlement cases - with devastating social, environmental and budgetary impacts for sovereign states and ordinary people. A new briefing paper by CEO and TNI shines a light on their vested interests.
November 7, 2011 - 11:31
In March 2010, the European Commission approved BASF's genetically modified Amflora potato for cultivation in the European Union. CEO has investigated the background to this decision, including the controversial scientific advice provided by the European Food Safety Authority on the use of antibiotic resistant marker genes. CEO found that more than half of EFSA's GMO panel had conflicts of interest, as defined by the OECD. Their advice, which contravened WHO guidelines, contributed to the approval of the GM potato - and is likely to lead to the approval of similar GM crops in the near future.
October 31, 2011 - 15:10
Is it right that central bankers should be members of lobby groups or think tanks where they meet with the chief executives of big private banks to produce advice on banking regulation for the rest of the world? Is it a problem if bankers walk back and forth between public and private office? These two questions are worth asking at the current time as Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank has handed over control to Mario Draghi.
October 10, 2011 - 11:19
This report outlines a series of reforms to the regulation of carbon trading in response to fraud and the financial crisis, and financial sector efforts to disrupt them. It shows that:
- The European Commission adopted a deliberately light touch approach to regulating its Emissions Trading System since its launch in 2005. A series of fraud cases made this position untenable.
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Corporate Europe Observatory
Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is a research and campaign group working to expose and challenge the privileged access and influence enjoyed by corporations and their lobby groups in EU policy making.
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