Big industry is undermining our democracies. Industry lobbying is at unprecedented levels. #corporatecapture #lobbyingfirewall
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The huge sums for EU lobbying by the biggest declaring corporate interests are clearly paying-off, considering the pro-business agenda of the second von der Leyen Commissions. EU decision-making faces a real risk of regulatory capture, and there are next to no effective protections in place. Corporate competitiveness is being prioritised over democratic values and social and environmental protections. We need lobby firewalls to protect public decision-making. The Commission must stop providing privileged access to industry lobbies and ensure that civil society and community voices are heard. Introducing a legally-binding register is long overdue, to deliver meaningful sanctions for posting inaccurate data.
It's time for a #lobbyingfirewall to protect the public interest in EU decision-making from #corporatecapture including by #BigToxics
corporateeurope.org/en/2025/02/e...
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A general infographic showing the two biggest spenders of the top 6 sectors, with their logos and names, in a spider diagram. The title is: Highest-declaring sectors Big Tech, and here the two main ones are Meta and Microsoft, Total: €67 million Banking & Finance, the two main ones are Association for Financial Markets in Europe, European Banking Federation, Total: 55,75 million Energy (FuelsEurope, Shell), Total: €45 million Chemicals (European Chemical Industry Council, Bayer), Total: €45 million Cross-sector trade associations (BusinessEurope, BDI - Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie e.V.), Total: €26,25 million Pharma (European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, Novartis), Total: €21,75 million
On chemicals promised #REACH revision has shifted to simplification agenda to help sector become more "competitive", while #PFAS restriction is at risk from chems industry lobby
#Deregulation rules in VDL Commission
#lobbying
#lobbyingfirewall
#corporatecapture
corporateeurope.org/en/2025/02/e...
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In these videos you can see the highest declaring corporate lobby sectors:
1. Big Tech
2. Banking & Finance
3. Energy
corporateeurope.org/en/2025/02/e...
#lobbying
#lobbyingfirewall
#corporatecapture
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When the EU Commission's Clean Industrial Deal is launched on Wednesday it looks set to have corporate lobby fingerprints all over it.
corporateeurope.org/en/2025/02/e...
#lobbying
#lobbyingfirewall
#corporatecapture
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Check out our new videos illustrating The EU’s lobby league table, showing highest declaring EU corporate lobby spenders
corporateeurope.org/en/2025/02/e...
#lobbying
#lobbyingfirewall
#corporatecapture
@lobbycontrol.bsky.social
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The huge sums for EU lobbying by the biggest declaring corporate interests are clearly paying-off, considering the pro-business agenda of the second von der Leyen Commissions. EU decision-making faces a real risk of regulatory capture, and there are next to no effective protections in place. Corporate competitiveness is being prioritised over democratic values and social and environmental protections. We need lobby firewalls to protect public decision-making. The Commission must stop providing privileged access to industry lobbies and ensure that civil society and community voices are heard. Introducing a legally-binding register is long overdue, to deliver meaningful sanctions for posting inaccurate data.
Clean Industrial Deal risks becoming yet another example of corporate capture.
Without strong transparency rules & enforcement, plus real accountability, industry will continue to write the EU’s agenda behind closed doors.
✊ We need #lobbyingfirewall to protect public interest decision-making!
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Title: Big spender #4: Chemicals European Chemical Industry Council High-level Commission meetings: 183 Lobbying cost: €10 million +, -16.67% since 2020, lobbyists: 43* Bayer High-level Commission meetings: 56 Lobbying cost: €6 million +, 52.87% since 2020, lobbyists: 22* BASF High-level Commission meetings: 58 Lobbying cost: €4,5 million +, 36.36% since 2020, lobbyists: 37* *Full time equivalent This sector has long dominated the very top of the EU league table of highest declared lobby spenders, and this position is reflected in the political clout that the sector has been able to wield. E.g., the Antwerp Declaration was launched at the BASF plant in Antwerp in February 2024 in a CEFIC-organised business-only event with von der Leyen and the then Belgian prime minister. All of the Declaration’s demands are all “on the menu” of the Commission. Entirely missing from this agenda is the need to detoxify this sector and its products. But this is only the latest in a long line of victories for the chemicals sector: • Proposal to cut pesticide use: withdrawn • Ban on exporting harmful pesticides and chemicals already banned in the EU: yet to materialise • REACH revision: shifted to a simplification agenda to help the chemicals sector become more competitive • PFAS restriction: under attack by the chemicals industry lobby
Title: Big spender #5: Cross-sector trade associations BusinessEurope High-level Commission meetings: 467 Lobbying cost: €6 million +, 45.45% since 2020, lobbyists: 31* BDI - Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie e.V. High-level Commission meetings: 199 Lobbying cost: €3,5 million +, 21.74% since 2020, lobbyists: 13* Deutsche Industrie- und Handelskammer High-level Commission meetings: 86 Lobbying cost: €3,5 million +, 37.2% since 2020, lobbyists: 22* *Full time equivalent Besides the many sectors involved in a push for an industrial deal, several general business lobbying associations have been involved from day one. And the Clean Industrial Deal is set to be heavily inspired by the Draghi report. Despite early criticism, Mario Draghi prepared it in close cooperation with corporate lobby groups, whereas civil society organisations had very little access to him and his associates.
Title: Big spender #6: Pharma European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations High-level Commission meetings: 125 Lobbying cost: €5,5 million +, 1.57% since 2020, lobbyists: 13* Novartis High-level Commission meetings: 30 Lobbying cost: €2 million +, -15.79% since 2020, lobbyists: 3* F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd High-level Commission meetings: 7 Lobbying cost: €1,75 million +, 55.56% since 2020, lobbyists: 5* *Full time equivalent The lobbying power of Big Pharma was clearer than ever during the corona pandemic, when it convinced EU decision-makers to grant Pfizer and other pharma giants unlimited monopoly patent control of vaccines and treatments, instead of more effective pandemic responses (technology sharing to secure universal access). The sector is now eagerly using the von der Leyen Commission’s competitiveness über alles approach to promote its lobby demands. It has warmly welcomed the announcement of a European Life Science Strategy which it insists should further strengthen intellectual property protection, despite evidence that this is an obstacle to access to medicines.
The biggest corporate sectors of those declaring €1 million annually are:
1. Big Tech
2. Banking & Finance
3. Energy
4. Chemicals & Agribusiness
5. Cross-sector
6. Pharma
#lobbying
#lobbyingfirewall
#corporatecapture
corporateeurope.org/en/2025/02/e...
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Pie chart with the top 15 dos spenders and text Subtitle: Top 15 highest-declaring sectors Big Tech: 19.52 % Banking & Finance: 15.66 % Energy: 13.11 % Chemicals & Agribusiness: 13.11 % Cross-sector: 7.65 % Pharma: 6.34 % Insurance: 5.17 % Manufacturing: 4.95 % Automobiles: 4.30 % Transport & Logistics: 2.48 % Tobacco: 2.11 % Services: 1.75 % Food: 1.38 % Metals and mining: 1.31 % Defence & Security: 1.17 % Text: 162 corporations and trade associations spent at least €343 million on annual EU lobbying. Their efforts are succeeding, given the Commission's current plans for an aggressive deregulation agenda.
Other key findings include:
💰Total lobbying spends: The 162 corporations and trade associations which declare EU lobby budgets of over €1 million annually, collectively spend at least €343 million per year.
#lobbying
#lobbyingfirewall
#corporatecapture
corporateeurope.org/en/2025/02/e...
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A general infographic showing the two biggest spenders of the top 6 sectors, with their logos and names, in a spider diagram. The title is: Highest-declaring sectors. Big Tech, and here the two biggest ones are Meta and Microsoft, Total: €67 million Banking & Finance, the two biggest ones are Association for Financial Markets in Europe, European Banking Federation, Total: 55,75 million Energy (FuelsEurope, Shell), Total: €45 million Chemicals & Agri-business (European Chemical Industry Council, Bayer), Total: €45 million Cross-sector trade associations (BusinessEurope, BDI - Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie e.V.), Total: €26,25 million Pharma (European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, Novartis), Total: €21,75 million
Corporate lobby firepower is yielding results: Big Polluters have held huge sway over the Commission's current plans for an aggressive deregulation agenda, and a replacement of green policies by the so-called 'Clean Industrial Deal'.
#lobbying
#lobbyingfirewall
#corporatecapture
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Cover of the report, with the titles: The EU’s lobby league table: Big Tech, Banking, Energy, Chemicals & agri-business Based on the analysis of companies declaring more than €1 million on annual lobbying in the EU lobby register. Data corrected as of 8 February 2025.
Big business spends millions lobbying the EU, but who are the top spenders, and what do they want?
Together with @lobbycontrol.bsky.social we took a look and can reveal that declared corporate lobby spend has reached unprecedented levels.
#lobbying
#lobbyingfirewall
#corporatecapture
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