Militarisation

In January 2022, France will take on the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU. Yet this Presidency has been prepared in close collaboration with the French corporate sector, and is setting a policy agenda that strongly reflects business demands. It looks set to be a captured presidency.

“The Ombudsman is concerned about the potential risk of conflicts of interest.” These concerns led the European Ombudsman’s office to launch an inquiry into the European Defence Agency’s handling of the request by its former Chief Executive to allow him to become a lobbyist for Airbus.

In this new episode we dive into the incredible story on how Fortress Europe is being constructed by an European agency called the ‘European Border and Coast Guard Agency’ AKA Frontex, almost in the dark and without any democratic oversight. With billions of EU tax payer’s money and the help of dozens of lobbyists from defence, arms and surveillance technology industries, Frontex is creating a world that George Orwell would have found inspiring when writing his book ‘1984’.

The massive expansion of the budget, personnel, and powers of the EU's border agency Frontex has also seen increasingly privileged access for industry. This perpetuates a vision of border control based on more and more firearms and biometric surveillance that has major human rights implications.

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.

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.

Lobbying Warfare - the arms industry's role in building a military Europe maps out the key players in the defence and security lobby in Brussels, and highlights how the industry's close alliance with EU decision makers has contributed to the expansion of the EU's defence and security structures, and to the overall militarisation of EU foreign policy.