Other battles

Online privacy, clean air, affordable housing, whistleblower protection and much more: which other corporate lobby fights are putting EU public interest on the line?

Digital

In battle for ePrivacy, Council of EU set to side with advertisers, telecoms and Big Data

04.06.2018

Since the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has come into force, ePrivacy is now the new online data security frontier in the European Union. Corporate Europe Observatory’s new research shows how proposed rules are being watered down by EU member state governments in the Council of the European Union, following a deluge of industry lobbying.

Digital

Shutting down ePrivacy: lobby bandwagon targets Council

04.06.2018

Industry lobbyists who want to continue monetising users’ online data are battling against new ePrivacy regulations, targeting EU member states in the Council. And some member state governments are only too happy to help.

Environment

Plastic promises

22.05.2018

The plastics industry mounted a significant lobby campaign to influence the European Commission’s recent Plastics Strategy. Industry is now seeking to unpick or undermine key elements of the strategy through lacklustre or non-existing voluntary commitments, or outright opposition. With the Commission likely to publish its proposal to tackle single-use plastic products any day, will it adopt an ambitious approach towards binding regulations on industry?

Digital

Post-scandal Facebook: will the EU stop treating the tech giant as a trusted partner?

21.05.2018

Following the Cambridge Analytica affair and the massive leak of 87 million people’s data revealed earlier this year, Facebook is facing unprecedented scrutiny of its business model. Regulators must stop treating the social media giant as a trusted partner and better protecting EU citizens' digital rights.

Digital

UnFairbnb

02.05.2018

AirBnB and its allies are lobbying the EU to fight measures to protect affordable housing in cities across Europe. Our new report “UnFairbnb” looks at the way in which their Brussels lobbying undermines cities’ ability to regulate the AirBnB model for holiday rentals.

Environment

Packaging lobby’s support for anti-litter groups deflects tougher solutions

28.03.2018

As political support for radical solutions to tackle the scourge of single-use plastics grows, we look at the links between the packaging industry and anti-litter NGOs in Brussels and beyond.

More secrecy rights for business in the UK? No thanks!

14.03.2018

The UK government will shortly bring new EU rules on industrial espionage into law. But civil society is concerned that these new rules risk creating a chilling effect on future corporate whistle-blowers and those who report their stories.

Lobby groups & tactics

Arms industry lobbying in Brussels

04.12.2017

On 4 December, the arms industry and the EU came together for the 'European Defence Industry Summit'. Our new joint infographic explains how arms industry lobbying is shaping the EU's 'defence' agenda.

Lobby groups & tactics

Arms industry lobbying and the militarisation of the EU

04.12.2017

Lobbying by the arms industry has been playing an increasingly influential role in EU policy-making and the EU's plans to start funding 'defence' research and development.

Austerity

Is the European Commission preparing a new privatisation push?

13.11.2017

With KPMG compiling an assessment of the “operational and fiscal challenges” of state-owned enterprises for the public purse on behalf of the European Commission, concerns about a new wave of privatisation arise.

Digital

Big Data is watching you

17.10.2017

MEPs are about to determine how secure our data is when we are online in this week's vote on ePrivacy Regulation. For the past 16 months, industry lobbies, including all those who commercially use personal online data, have been vigorously opposing new proposals on ePrivacy, while digital rights campaigners demand optimum data privacy for citizens online.