Articles

Former internal market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy waited just one week after the requirement that he informed the Commission of his professional activities expired, before he signed a contract to join the board of a bank.

New rules needed to curb power of corporate lobbyists in the European Parliament

A new cartoon has been launched, exposing a new label for 'responsible' soy. Detective Pig investigates soy production in South America and finds out the truth behind this new label which is introduced on the European market this spring. It has been established by the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), a voluntary certification scheme supported by agribusiness including Monsanto and Unilever, and a few NGOs including WWF.

New rules needed to curb power of corporate lobbyists in the European Parliament

In view of the upcoming review of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), the Parliament’s Agriculture committee took the initatiative to come forward with a report regarding the long-standing problem of the EU’s reliance on imported protein crops for animal feed.

Swedish MEP Carl Schlyter (Green) has told Corporate Europe Observatory that lobbyism is the main reason why the EU makes bad policies. Interviewed about his role as rapporteur for the European Parliament on the future of EU member states' bilateral investment treaties, he spoke about the corporate counter attack on his report, MEPs tabling amendments for industry and governments and about why he turned down requests for meetings with corporate lobbyists.

Press release from the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER EU): Brussels, 21 March 2011 – An alliance of transparency campaigners today urged a root and branch overhaul of ethics rules for MEPs, following the revelations published in UK newspaper, the Sunday Times (20 March) exposing how three MEPs were prepared to accept payments in return for tabling amendments in the European Parliament. [1]

A luxurious venue, corporate propaganda in the corridors, co-optation of the co-organisers, lobbyists in the room, civil society hardly present and heavy-weight politicians on stage: welcome to Syngenta's 4th Forum for the Future of Agriculture.