Articles

On numerous occasions over the last few months, this blog has focused on the cash-for-influence scandal in the European Parliament and its aftermath – specifically the process to develop a code of conduct for MEPs.

With this open letter Corporate Europe Observatory reacts to a letter that EFSA executive director Catherine Geslain-Lanéelle wrote to CEO in reaction to our investigative report, “Exposed: conflicts of interest among EFSA’s experts on food additives”.

Irish MEP Paul Murphy of the European United Left Group (GUE) is a member of the Committee on International Trade (INTA), one of the committees, which commented on the EU’s latest Raw Materials Initiative. He shared his reflections on the initiative with Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), described what kind of raw materials policy is needed and talked about the role of corporate lobbying in the European Parliament.

On 30 June, the European Parliament’s industry, energy and research committee (ITRE) is due to vote on the EU’s Raw Materials Initiative, establishing guidelines for Europe's future policy on natural resource use. The Parliament’s report could effectively give the green light to mining in protected European nature reserves as well as a resource grab in Asia, Africa, the Americas and the Arctic.

This is a crucial week for European ethics, not least with an important meeting of the Buzek working group to look at a draft MEP code of conduct and the launch of the joint transparency register between the Parliament and the Commission.

As the Buzek working group to develop a code of conduct for MEPs following the cash-for-amendments scandal Corporate Europe Observatory starts to wrap up its work, it could do worse than look at a recent academic study which shows that the European Parliament has one of the weakest regulatory regimes for lobbying in the world.

New research by Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) has found that 11 out of the 20 experts on the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) panel on food additives (ANS) have a conflict of interest, as defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The Lisbon Treaty, introduced in 2009, substantially increased the Parliament’s legislative power, making MEPs even more attractive to consultancy firms. The Parliament can now accept, amend or reject the content of European legislation that affects every European – making its decision makers worth knowing. Its new powers mean that greater scrutiny, transparency and accountability are required to minimize any potential conflict of interest and corruption.