Lobbying the EU

How vulnerable are the EU institutions to undue corporate influence, and what gaps exist in EU lobbying and ethics rules?

Corporate Europe Observatory LobbyControl LobbyFacts.eu How much money have the biggest companies spent on lobbying in last 7 years?

Lobby transparency

A ranking of lobbying activities: Who spends most?

The biggest companies in the EU lobby transparency register have increased their annual EU lobby budget by one third in recent years. Find out more as Corporate Europe Observatory and LobbyControl re-launch their EU lobby data site LobbyFacts.eu

Corporate Europe Observatory LobbyControl LobbyFacts.eu Research examples: Revolving doors Over 70% of Google’s and Meta’s lobbyists have formerly worked for governmental bodies at the EU or member state level.

The revolving door – from public officials to Big Tech lobbyists

Around three quarters of Google’s and Meta’s lobbyists have formerly worked for EU governmental bodies. Check out our new story using data from LobbyFacts.

Corporate Europe Observatory LobbyControl LobbyFacts.eu Researching with LobbyFacts: What do you mean, dodgy data? Today LobbyFacts.eu shows that 71% of registrants declaring the highest annual lobby spending in the EU lobby register are implausible. Image of a scary clown

Lobby transparency

Complaint to EU lobby transparency register

Corporate Europe Observatory and LobbyControl have written to the EU lobby transparency register to complain about hundreds of instances of implausible data, as exposed by LobbyFacts.eu

Neelie Kroes

Kroes-ing through the revolving door

The Uber Files have reignited concern about the revolving doors move by Neelie Kroes, Digital agenda Commissioner until October 2014, to Uber. Get the low-down here.

Uber, Airbnb and the European Commission

Uber: an EU lobby profile

Uber, currently dominating news headlines around the world, is a regular visitor to the European Commission’s Berlaymont building in Brussels. Read on for the low-down on Uber’s EU lobbying.

Inside job deregulation small

Inside job

Find out how a proposed EU law that seeks to hold companies accountable for abuses in their supply chains has been watered down by corporate lobbyists, with assistance from the EU's business-friendly ‘Better regulation’ agenda.

Yeuyei - Surveillance capitalism

Big Tech’s last minute attempt to tame EU tech rules

As the EU discussions to set up new tech rules come to an end, new lobby documents expose the intense last minute corporate campaign to influence the secretive last phase - the trilogues.

Greenpeace Stop gas, End war

Ukraine crisis

CEO brings you its latest analysis on lobbying and the Ukraine crisis, from energy policy, to tracking the corporate opportunists and their lobby demands.

Black Box EU

Over 40 CSOs and trade unions demand transparency in DSA-DMA trilogues

Today over 40 NGOs and trade unions working on transparency, media, democracy and digital rights, asked EU policy-makers to make urgent improvements to the transparency of the trilogue negotiations on the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA).

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Captured states

Macron's EU vs Transparency & Democracy

In this new episode of EU Watchdog Radio we discuss France, French politics, the role that French President Emmanuel Macron wants to play in the EU and what vision he has for the future of Europe. Disclaimer: the French Presidency of the EU Council which started on 1 January promises a very corporate-driven future of Europe!

Illustration Yeyei Gomez

How corporate lobbying undermined the EU’s push to ban surveillance ads

Despite the EU's talk about regulating the digital sphere, we uncover how Big Tech has successfully waged a major lobbying campaign to prevent a ban on their extremely profitable model of intrusive surveillance advertising. However MEPs still have a chance to turn some of this around.

Under the influence II teaser

Captured states

Under the influence (II)

In January 2022, France will take on the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU. Yet this Presidency has been prepared in close collaboration with the French corporate sector, and is setting a policy agenda that strongly reflects business demands. It looks set to be a captured presidency.

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