Press

On the eve of the 4th annual Industrial Carbon Management Forum in Pau, France, Corporate Europe Observatory releases an update to its March Carbon Coup report. Titled Carbon Coup Revisited, the update reveals how the forum, dominated by fossil fuel companies and major polluters, continues to wield significant influence over EU’s key energy policies.

One year has passed since the European Ombudsman found the European Commission responsible for "maladministration" for refusing to release the full, unredacted impact assessment (IA) of the proposed revision to the REACH chemicals regulation. 

 The predominance of corporate influence in the drafting of Draghi's Competitiveness report raises significant concerns among civil society organisations about the undue impact of corporate power over the next EU legislature. 

After weeks of uncertainty and delays, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen finally announced the list of candidates for the new Commission to Members of the European Parliament today. 

Today, Ursula von der Leyen has been reappointed as president of the European Commission. However, her priorities have drastically changed compared to her first mandate. Five years ago, she promised a transformative Green Deal but is now openly embracing corporate lobbyists and their deregulation agenda.

Tomorrow European and member state leaders will be gathering to decide on the new EU strategic agenda for the next five years. Civil society organisations across Europe and beyond are calling for real political solutions to the multiple crises people face.

The European elections are gearing up – but one group doesn't need to win votes in order to influence policy-making.

Today a farmers protest is taking place in Brussels, under the Atomium. Its organisation was discussed at a meeting by an Orban-linked Hungarian think tank in January, with attendance of several far-right parties. The speakers list for today is dominated by the far-right as well. Turn-out numbers however are far lower than previous protests.

In 2020, the European Commission pledged to address one of the most unethical trading practices in the EU: the export of banned pesticides to third countries. However, despite this original commitment, no concrete proposal has been put forward, and the EU is still exporting large quantities of these hazardous substances to countries around the world.