Secrecy and corporate dominance

Secrecy and corporate dominance - a study on the composition and transparency of European Commission Expert Groups Expert Groups are established by the Commission to provide advice on the development of new laws and policies, giving group members considerable power over EU policies and legislation, the report says. ALTER-EU warns that public interest may be at risk given the predominance of industry representatives on some Expert Groups. In a study of Expert Groups advising on some of the most controversial issues, it found that industry representatives made up more than 50% of the membership of one in four of the groups surveyed. Almost two thirds of the groups were unbalanced and just 32% of the groups were composed of members representing a wide range of interests. Industry controls a number of the Commission’s most controversial Expert Groups, including advisory groups on issues such as “biotechnology”, “clean coal” and “car emissions”, according to new research from CEO.