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Two weeks ago, Corporate Europe Observatory and India FDI Watch published a report that revealed how the negotiations for a free trade agreement between the EU and India had been hijacked by business interests. The EU Commission has responded to the report by rejecting the allegations, claiming that there was no business bias in the trade talks.

In a long standing lobbying battle on new EU regulation of hedge funds and equity funds, one of the defining moments was in May this year, when the European Parliament was to vote on its position. Shortly before the big day, MEPs received a letter signed by hundreds of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) begging them to work for a weak position of the parliament to ensure easy access for innovative SMEs to venture capital. But upon closer investigation it turns out that the vast majority of these SMEs are actually owned wholly or partially by venture capital funds and the initiative was

The German weekly WirtschaftsWoche earlier this week revealed that former Enterprise Commissioner Günter Verheugen has set up his own EU lobby consultancy firm, the European Experience Company. Verheugen started the new firm in April 2010, just two months after he ended his term as Commissioner, but did not inform the Commission about this.

Both the MEPs and banking lobbyists that participate in the European Parliamentary Financial Services Forum (EPFSF) claim that the EPFSF is not a lobby group but a “forum for discussion”.

A new joint report from Corporate Europe Observatory and India FDI Watch reveals how, in the negotiations for a trade deal between the EU and India, the EU Commission and the Indian government have handed the agenda over to corporate lobby groups. This big-business-first agenda will put at risk the livelihoods of millions of small farmers, street traders and patients. The report shows how negotiators on both sides have entered into a symbiotic working relationship with big corporations and their lobby groups. It shines a light on the dense web of corporate advisory bodies, working groups and

This EU-funded website set up by PSIRU helps water utilities, local authorities and civil society organisations identify partners and use EU aid to build not-for-profit water partnerships for African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.

New investment powers, granted to the EU Commission under the Lisbon Treaty, will still allow multinational companies to claim compensation when national laws designed to protect the environment or public health damage their profits, according to proposals put forward by the EU Commission this month.

The Farmers Biotech Network GM Food tasting event,reported on by Corporate Europe Observatory recently, was not paid for by the farmers network, CEO has learned, but by EuropaBio.

After Commissioner Janez Potocnik's very weak reply to the letter sent by Food and Water Europe, CEO and other organisations, the organisations replied back again, stressing the demand for the EC to withdraw from the "European Food Sustainable Consumption and Production Roundtable (SCP Roundtable). Read the letter here.