Articles

Corporate Europe Observatory has written to the EU Health and Consumer Commissioner John Dalli to urge him to overhaul the rules relating to conflicts of interest on the management board of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The letter follows CEO's report which highlighted how four members of EFSA's management board have links to the food industry or related lobby groups. EFSA defended the management board members, saying representatives were required according to EFSA founding regulations. Read the full letter here:

On March 7, MEPs in the Parliament's economic affairs committee voted down the vast majority of the amendments inspired by the derivatives industry. This was thanks to the compromise amendments proposed by the rapporteur Pascal Canfin.The MEPs proposed specific measures to stop the irresponsible practice of trading naked sovereign debt instruments (including CDS) opposing what was proposed by the Federation of European Securities Exchanges and other lobby groups linked with the derivatives industry.

Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) last week highlighted in a report that at least four members of EFSA’s management board are employed by or otherwise linked with food industry lobby groups and other commercial interests, a situation that creates potential conflicts of interest.

On March 7, the European Parliament's economic affairs committee will vote on amendments to the Commission's proposals to regulate one of the most controversial derivative financial products, Credit Default Swaps. The London MEP Syed Kamall (European Conservative and Reformist group) has tabled 14 amendments that are identical to those tabled by Swedish MEP Olle Schmidt (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) or have the same result in the legislation and/or the same explanation text (ten identical and four almost identical ones). [1]

The financial lobby has exploited the opacity of financial markets to avoid curbs on speculation against EU member state economies. The lack of precise information on what happened with Greek, Iri sh, Portuguese and Spanish bonds might – ironically – have protected the speculators from tighter regulation.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is responsible for assessing and communicating food safety in the European Union, for everything from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to pesticides. However EFSA has recently been criticised because its scientific assessments of new GM crops and pesticides rely almost exclusively on corporate research data. Some EFSA experts have also been accused of being too close to the food and drink industry .

MEPs from all sides of the political spectrum last week attacked the Commission's failure to act against the industry dominance of many of its advisory bodies, the so-called expert groups. The Commission came under fierce criticism from more than 15 MEPs who took to the floor during a debate in the European Parliament’s plenary hall, demanding solutions to the expert group problem and insisting that Parliament should be involved in the decision making process.

A survey done by an intern at Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) has thrown new light on the relations between Danish MEPs and lobbyists. Jacob Hoedeman wrote to Danish MEPs during his internship, asking them for a list of meetings they had had with lobbyists in the last two months of 2010.

On 2nd February, in the middle of the afternoon, an unusual demonstration took place in Brussels. Organised by a collective of Brussels-based citizens and activists aiming to tackle corporate lobbying power with an artistic take, it took the form of a guided tour focusing on the EU Quarter's corporate lobbying hotspots.