A busy week for those trying to steer us into disaster

Dear friends,

Last week was a busy one for those trying to steer the EU into disaster. Correspondingly, it was also a busy one for those who, like us, work to fight and challenge the influence of Big Business.

The EU Commission published an important flagship project, the (not so) Clean Industrial Deal (CID). It breaks with past ambitions to regulate toxic chemicals, and deepens the EU’s commitment to false solutions to the climate disaster. Some of the most polluting industries are set to receive billions in state aid and financing from EU funds; laws will be amended to suit their agenda; and deregulation could go as far as weakening recently adopted laws. Read our analysis of it here.

In reality the CID is a ‘deal’ invented by industry for industry, including the worst polluters in Europe. We have been tracking it ever since Big Polluters first demanded it at a closed meeting between Ursula von der Leyen and then-Council President and Belgium Prime Minister de Croo, a year ago. The CID was also the result of the Clean Transition Dialogues dominated by corporations, particularly energy companies and the fossil fuel industry.

Having had its demands met, now industry is set to exert considerable influence on how the CID develops. Last week we looked into the biggest spenders on the Brussels lobbying scene and – to surprise of absolutely no one – the same names show up. Our new analysis, done with our friends at LobbyControl, shows that EU decision-making faces a real risk of regulatory capture, with almost no effective protections in place.

This new research, ‘The EU's lobby league table: Tech, Banking, Energy, Chemicals dominate’, reveals that corporate lobby spending has reached unprecedented levels. The biggest spenders alone have increased their total declared spend by one-third since 2020, growing by €41 million (13 per cent) in just the past year. And these figures are likely to be substantial underestimates.

This surge in spending is reflected in the pro-business agenda of the second von der Leyen Commission. To find out more, read our report and watch and share our video.

Meanwhile, as corporate lobbyists pour hundreds of millions into influencing EU policy, it is incredible how recent political and media debates have disproportionately focused on the €15 million in LIFE funding received by other green NGOs for a variety of activities* (These attacks on NGOs are being turbo-charged by the right wing resurgence). This stark contrast raises concerns about whose influence is really shaping EU decision-making.

The upcoming 2025 review of the EU Lobby Register presents a crucial opportunity to introduce long overdue legally-binding rules, ensuring transparency and accountability in Brussels’ corridors of power, with meaningful sanctions for those posting inaccurate data.

To prevent undue corporate influence over policymaking, the EU must adopt lobby firewalls and the Commission must stop providing privileged access to industry lobbies and ensure that civil society and community voices are heard. As we witness increasing attacks on democratic principles, the best defence is to champion a vision of real democracy – one where people are in charge, not corporations.

In solidarity,

Belén, Bram, Hans, Joana, Karin, Kat, Kees, Kenneth, Marcella, Nina, Olivier, Pascoe, Rik and Vicky

*CEO does not receive EU funding. We are just defending those who do from unfair political attacks.