Press

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.

Almost 100 Members of the European Parliament have seized the momentum of the EU election countdown to improve the EU Council Presidency: In an open letter to Finland’s Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, they demand lobby transparency be placed at the heart of the upcoming Finnish EU Presidency.

Ahead of a looming Brexit, European Parliament elections, and a new EU Commission, Corporate Europe Observatory’s new report “Captured states: when EU governments channel corporate interests” shows how EU member states commonly act as middlemen for corporate interests at the EU level.

Fresh opposition has been voiced against a highly controversial EU policy negotiation overseen by the new Romanian EU Presidency in the coming weeks: 160 mayors, parties, trade unions and NGOs, including Corporate Europe Observatory, today wrote to the Presidency to underline their strong concerns about the ‘Services Notification Procedure’.

Getting a good data transparency legislation for food safety in the EU is now within reach, following EU Parliament vote on General Food Law reform.

When the EU Parliament votes on EU research funding policy Horizon Europe this week, the plenary will also be deciding whether to include a so-called ’innovation principle’. New Corporate Europe Observatory research reveals that this ’principle’ originates from lobby groups representing the chemical, tobacco, and fossil fuel industries, and, if adopted, would help corporations undermine EU health and environmental protections.

The new EU Climate Strategy aims to make the EU climate neutral by 2050. But there is a clear thumbs-up to the gas industry - a result of heavy lobbying.

Although ‘renewable’ and ‘low carbon’ gases are currently hyped as a way to make the gas industry ‘Paris compliant’ by 2050, these gases are neither green nor sustainable. Ahead of the EU Commission announcing its ‘2050 Climate Strategy’, Corporate Europe Observatory released a two-part briefing on the gas lobby's attempts to promote ‘renewable gas’ in the EU strategy.

Reacting to a protest letter they received this morning, the Austrian EU Presidency has just cancelled tomorrow’s talks about a controversial proposed EU directive that would create major new obstacles for progressive municipal policies and initiatives. The coalition behind the letter opposing the directive represents over ten million EU citizens.