Articles

Crucial decisions “to save the Euro” and “to save Greece” were made at the Euro Summits in July and October 2011. While the decision making process was taking place, the press reported several informal negotiations between EU leaders and the banks, mostly represented by the Institute of International Finance (IIF). What was exactly the role of this lobby group in the final decisions? And what did it get from the deal?

In April 2011 following a public outcry about ex-Commissioners going through the revolving door into industry (lobby) jobs, the European Commission introduced a slightly stricter Code of Conduct for Commissioners.

The goal of the summit is to assess progress made since the Earth Summit as well as address new challenges. On the agenda will be institutional reform of governance on global environment issues, which could lead to strengthening of UNEP (the French government’s proposal for a World Environment Organisation is not going to happen). The most intense discussion in the preparatory process is around the ‘Green Economy’ agenda promoted by UNEP, a concept that could replace ‘sustainable development’ as the dominant discourse.

The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) new independence policy allows the possible subversion of scientific advice by industry’s vested interests, Corporate Europe Observatory said following publication of the policy on Wednesday. It is due for approval by the EFSA Management Board when it meets tomorrow in Warsaw.

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

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

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.

A couple of weeks ago, the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU) launched a new campaign to block the revolving door. Alongside numerous cases of officials, often at the very highest levels in the EU institutions, who have gone through the revolving door to join Brussels' lucrative lobby industry, there was a comprehensive analysis about why the current rules (contained in the Staff Regulations) don't work.

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.