Inside the Brussels' Bubble

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65709504188182298412019-05-12T16:25:23.506+02:00Inside the Brussels' BubbleErik Wesseliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08987100035727439847noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6570950418818229841.post-46305522930535877232011-02-16T15:07:00.007+01:002011-02-16T15:33:03.462+01:00Artistic protest against industry lobby power in EU quarter

On 2nd February, in the middle of the afternoon, an unusual demonstration took place in Brussels. Organised by a collective of Brussels-based citizens and activists aiming to tackle corporate lobbying power with an artistic take, it took the form of a guided tour focusing on the EU Quarter's corporate lobbying hotspots.A bike transformed into a mobile anti-lobbying paintings galleryStarting from

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6570950418818229841.post-77433456325513300202009-10-28T16:10:00.022+01:002009-10-29T11:22:24.571+01:00BusinessEurope's conference inside Commission's building blocked

Under the slogan 'Our Climate, not your business' a group of climate activists blocked BusinessEurope's conference in the Charlemagne building of the European Commission for one and a half hours. Police used pepper spray on protesters blocking the revolving doors, even though the police had already gained access to the building and arrested 24 activists before letting corporate lobbyists and

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6570950418818229841.post-15331524809421032362009-10-08T09:59:00.009+02:002009-10-09T12:39:28.328+02:00Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Summit in the Brussels bubble – “Getting it right for Copenhagen”

On 6 October, Forum Europe and the Norway-based Bellona Foundation brought together a room packed with industry players together in luxury hotel in the Brussels EU quarter to talk about EU funding possibilities for CCS and how to make CCS accepted by the public.A growing range of critics consider carbon capture and storage (CCS) to be an unproven, expensive and dangerous technology based on the

AHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12216608458107886425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6570950418818229841.post-25938805299621009432009-08-05T11:19:00.004+02:002009-08-05T11:29:15.790+02:00DG Trade: No apologies for giving privileged access to business

During one of DG Trade's recent meetings with civil society, I raised CEO's concerns about the privileged access given to big business interests by the Commission when developing trade policy. The reply from Director General, David O'Sullivan, was surprisingly frank.He admitted that while his door was open to NGOs and he had never refused a meeting with one, he had “indeed made efforts to have

Pia Eberhardthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08270306756574730698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6570950418818229841.post-73884423006102748542009-07-20T12:02:00.002+02:002009-07-20T12:16:26.184+02:00The new European Parliament: too close to business?

Many key committees will for the next five years be headed by MEPs who have a record of close links with big business interests in decisions on environment and consumer rights. This highlights the need to improve the European Parliament’s current rules on corporate donations and links to commercial interests.In an interview published by Euractiv, Jacques Lafitte from Brussels lobby consultancy

Erik Wesseliushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08987100035727439847noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6570950418818229841.post-8527880148050056112009-05-20T16:35:00.007+02:002009-05-20T17:23:29.502+02:00MEP-turned-lobbyist shuns voluntary register

A few weeks ago, in our ‘Inside the Brussels Bubble’ blog, we wondered how many of the MEPs not standing for re-election would go through the revolving door into new jobs as industry lobbyists.Some high-profile MEPs went through the revolving doors to join Brussels lobby consultancy firms after the 2004 elections: Pat Cox (now with APCO as well as EU lobby advisor for Microsoft, Pfizer and other

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6570950418818229841.post-16879523691623984422009-05-19T10:50:00.003+02:002009-05-19T10:55:42.527+02:00Documentary reveals car lobby perks for MEPs

An interesting documentary on Dutch television yesterday showed the massive influence of the car lobby in EU capital Brussels. The car lobby uses a range of different tactics, including some that come close to influence peddling. MEP Malcolm Harbour, who has a strong say in Parliamentary decision-making on environmental standards for cars, routinely borrows luxurious new cars for 'test-drives',

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6570950418818229841.post-33413047556211506942009-04-28T19:53:00.008+02:002009-04-28T22:20:45.285+02:00EP elections ahead, how fast will the revolving door spin?

With the European Parliament elections now just five weeks away, the first election posters have started appearing in cities across Europe. As it becomes clear who will run for (re-)election, it also emerges who is stepping down from being an MEP. Many will return to national politics, retire or look for a new job. What will be really interesting to watch in the coming weeks and months is which

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6570950418818229841.post-8723479545916162642009-03-11T16:35:00.015+01:002009-03-12T16:33:32.897+01:00Commission takes financial advice from "independent" bankers

Hero’s welcome for banking advisor’s "wise words"Onno Ruding, a paid advisor to Citigroup and a member of President Barroso’s ‘committee of wise-men’ on financial supervision (known as the de Larosière group), presented the group's findings to a select audience this week at an event in Brussels.The event took part at the Centre of European Policy Studies (CEPS), a Brussels-based corporate-funded

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6570950418818229841.post-33779622767191135432008-12-07T15:51:00.002+01:002009-03-12T16:35:02.933+01:00The silent bubble

"Discuss with the EU's elite and be inspired by America's best": this was the motto of the European Agenda Summit 2008 held in Brussels on Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 December at the Renaissance Hotel — a five-star Marriott located at a stone throw from the European Parliament. Most of the 200 participants attending the event were professional lobbyists moving in the Brussels' bubble, but a few

David Lelouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08333401176377134826noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6570950418818229841.post-56092006785767277492008-10-10T17:12:00.000+02:002009-01-02T14:37:06.236+01:00Industry wants to shape EU youth to its needs, Commission agrees

The European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT) wants to develop synergies between schools and enterprise in response to the current shortage of mathematics, science and technology (MST) graduates. Without this ‘human capital’ needed to fuel their research and development, EU-based companies believe it will be difficult to boost European growth and create jobs, as promised by the Lisbon

David Lelouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08333401176377134826noreply@blogger.com0