Despite strong calls from MEPs and the public, ExxonMobil and its lobby groups mobilise enough behind-the-scenes pressure to stop the European Parliament taking away its lobby badges

European Commission plans to reform the EU Services Directive have quietly collapsed. This is really good news for local democracy in Europe.

In the final plenary session of this legislature, the European Parliament today passed the EU’s General Food Law reform. Its requirement for the publication of toxicity data used in EU food safety assessments is a huge transparency win.

After a decade of campaigning by scientists and citizens, and following the exceptional Stop Glyphosate European Citizens Initiative, the EU has patched today a major flaw in its food safety system. The revision of the EU’s General Food Law Regulation will at last give the public access to most of the confidential toxicity data provided to the EU authorities by food companies to obtain market authorisations for their products. This victory could enable much improved scientific scrutiny of EU food safety decisions, pending some issues around data re-use rights are solved.

China is flexing its soft power in Europe, cultivating networks of think tanks and lobbyists, in particular to promote its flagship programme the 'New Silk Road'. Meanwhile European failures in lobby transparency mean these influencing activities take place far beyond the light of public scrutiny.

Since 2010, ExxonMobil has invested over €35 million in lobbying the European Union to delay and weaken essential climate action. With a climate catastrophe looming, is it time EU decision-makers closed the door on the corporation's dirty lobbying?

In an open letter to European Commissioner Bieńkowska we've expressed the grave concerns of several civil society groups and political parties involved in running major European cities about flaws in the European Commission’s preparation of the Services Notification Procedure Directive, which put local democracy at risk.

Today, more than 60 international, European and national civil society groups have called on European decision makers to uphold the Paris Agreement and not mandate new trade negotiations with the USA.

New information shows the chilling scope of proposed EU rules on services (the ‘Bolkestein Directive’) that would give the Commission advance veto power over decisions taken by parliaments and city councils on a vast range of services, including everything from childcare, to energy, to water, and even sex work.

New documents increase concerns over the controversial reform to the Services Notification Procedure (“Bolkestein Directive”), which could radically expand EU Commission powers over national and municipal services regulation: 55 files obtained via access to documents requests show the heavy influence of big business lobbies over the proposal.