tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77558146398752292542012-06-01T10:51:52.050+02:00Lifting the veil of EU lobbying secrecy...Olivier Hoedemannoreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-74157593950473836612012-06-01T10:44:00.007+02:002012-06-01T10:51:52.097+02:002012-06-01T10:51:52.097+02:00

In recent months, the Parliament has been busy reviewing the Commission's proposal to reform the rules that govern EU officials' terms and conditions. There is a fairly widely-held view amongst the institutions that EU staff must not be excluded from the wider austerity measures which are simultaneously being implemented within member states. Yet, amongst the proposals for longer working hours

Vicky Cannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16927749523948885834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-21717122366394995382012-02-22T16:10:00.013+01:002012-02-23T16:04:47.896+01:002012-02-23T16:04:47.896+01:00

In her Survival guide to EU lobbying Caroline De Cock, an experienced EU lobbyist, calls senior ex-officials who go through the revolving door into commercial lobbying “door-openers” and she writes “They can be of great value, by opening the door to people and offices that would otherwise remain unattainable to your lobbying efforts”. There can be few more effective door-openers than former

Vicky Cannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16927749523948885834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-13792988507746521022012-02-21T14:40:00.004+01:002012-02-23T16:07:04.732+01:002012-02-23T16:07:04.732+01:00

The European Parliament is facing heavy lobbying in the run-up to a crucial vote on the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Industry lobby groups are stepping up the pressure to make MEPs vote in favour of this global treaty which has come under heavy criticism from civil society. Almost 2,4 million people signed an Avaaz petition against ACTA, which they fear “could allow

Ester Arauzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10205101718083216205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-85371652825782444302012-02-10T11:54:00.007+01:002012-02-10T12:11:57.963+01:002012-02-10T12:11:57.963+01:00

You've probably never heard of the 'Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities' but this 150-page tome and its associated annexes constitute 'The Bible' of terms of conditions for the 50,000 plus staff who work across the EU institutions and agencies. It also sets out the ethical obligations for staff including around confidentiality and handling conflicts of interest. This

Vicky Cannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16927749523948885834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-12726147916232092172012-01-23T14:16:00.009+01:002012-01-23T15:34:24.658+01:002012-01-23T15:34:24.658+01:00

In April 2011 following a public outcry about ex-Commissioners going through the revolving door into industry (lobby) jobs, the European Commission introduced a slightly stricter Code of Conduct for Commissioners. No fewer than 6 out of the 13 Commissioners who left in February 2010 went into such jobs, including powerful Commissioners like Gunter Verheugen and Charlie McCreevy, who took a whole

Olivier Hoedemannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-70620923807770639322011-12-08T09:37:00.005+01:002011-12-08T09:53:16.062+01:002011-12-08T09:53:16.062+01:00

A couple of weeks ago, the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU) launched a new campaign to block the revolving door. Alongside numerous cases of officials, often at the very highest levels in the EU institutions, who have gone through the revolving door to join Brussels' lucrative lobby industry, there was a comprehensive analysis about why the current rules (

Vicky Cannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16927749523948885834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-74842617761907798802011-12-05T14:45:00.011+01:002011-12-06T15:23:19.494+01:002011-12-06T15:23:19.494+01:00

Swedish environment minister Lena Ek last week came under fire for her role in the European Energy Forum (EEF), a cross-party group of MEPs which is funded by large corporations such as Shell, Nord Stream and Vattenfall. Ek, who acted as vice-chairman of the EEF during her time as an MEP, had failed to formally withdraw from her EEF role when she became environment minister. In an article

Olivier Hoedemannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-39278862378428912442011-11-25T10:52:00.012+01:002011-11-25T11:23:50.211+01:002011-11-25T11:23:50.211+01:00

Brussels bubble watchers might remember the names of Verheugen, McCreevy, Ferrero-Waldner, Kuneva – all former EU commissioners who left public service and went through the revolving door into lobby jobs or other jobs which provoked conflicts of interest with their former work. Their cases caused a furore and led to the development of a code of conduct for commissioners and some (slightly)

Vicky Cannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16927749523948885834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-72761534239609057662011-11-09T12:25:00.003+01:002011-11-09T12:38:34.537+01:002011-11-09T12:38:34.537+01:00

If a week is a long time in politics, then it appears that seven months is a veritable aeon. That's how long it has been since the Sunday Times exposed the cash-for-influence scandal which engulfed three MEPs and caused some soul-searching in the EU's only elected institution. But the shock and embarrassment that this caused seems to have faded into the distant past, at least for some Members.

Vicky Cannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16927749523948885834noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-85427491394932704502011-10-26T13:31:00.008+02:002011-10-26T14:32:19.649+02:002011-10-26T14:32:19.649+02:00

Voting closes today for the European Public Affairs Awards, the self-congratulatory awards organised by Brussels lobby consultancy firms and their lobby groups EPACA and SEAP.Categories for the EPA Awards include 'Consultancy of the year', 'Rising Star of the Year' and 'Think-tank of the Year. As in previous years, it is astonishing to see that the EPA award organisers have shortlisted several

Olivier Hoedemannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-84487197769611436002011-10-20T17:36:00.004+02:002011-10-20T17:43:42.166+02:002011-10-20T17:43:42.166+02:00

UK politics has over the last weeks been shaken by a lobbying scandal that led to the resignation of Defence Secretary Liam Fox. Fox allowed a close friend, Adam Werrity, access to government meetings at the highest level. There are strong indications that Werrity used his access to these meetings to promote the interests of undisclosed industry clients, likely including defence firms. Werrity

Olivier Hoedemannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-67170657410974653292011-10-11T15:39:00.003+02:002011-10-11T15:43:42.046+02:002011-10-11T15:43:42.046+02:00

In the latest dramatic episode in the escalating eurocrisis, the troubled Dexia bank has been dismantled and split up into smaller bits (including a large 'bad bank'), most of which have been nationalised and now belong to the French and Belgian governments. Dexia shares had dropped from 20 euro to less than one euro when trading was terminated last week. In assessing the collapse of the bank,

Olivier Hoedemannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-53350952890720268632011-09-27T09:42:00.006+02:002011-09-27T10:19:12.599+02:002011-09-27T10:19:12.599+02:00

Have you noticed the new VisitBrussels promotional video campaign springing up around the city in the last couple of weeks? So far, we've spotted it at Gare du Midi and Place Flagey. Among the glossy photos and promises of fun-filled weekends, is the following image: It's bizarre to think that these particular statistics would encourage anyone to come to Brussels. There again, as Brussels gains

Vicky Cannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16927749523948885834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-47633549252444929792011-07-07T12:56:00.026+02:002011-07-07T14:08:22.110+02:002011-07-07T14:08:22.110+02:00

On numerous occasions over the last few months, this blog has focused on the cash-for-influence scandal in the European Parliament and its aftermath – specifically the process to develop a code of conduct for MEPs. Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) has blogged about MEPs and their second jobs which provoke conflicts of interest, MEPs and their illegible financial interest declarations and former

Vicky Cannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16927749523948885834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-69064507276496617272011-06-22T10:41:00.012+02:002011-06-29T14:49:31.221+02:002011-06-29T14:49:31.221+02:00

This is a crucial week for European ethics, not least with an important meeting of the Buzek working group to look at a draft MEP code of conduct and the launch of the joint transparency register between the Parliament and the Commission. So it's very timely that, new draft lobbying legislation will also be launched this week in Austria, massively strengthening the law there as it relates to

Vicky Cannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16927749523948885834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-77963418384820721862011-06-17T09:24:00.004+02:002011-06-17T09:37:54.764+02:002011-06-17T09:37:54.764+02:00

As the Buzek working group to develop a code of conduct for MEPs following the cash-for-amendments scandal Corporate Europe Observatory starts to wrap up its work, it could do worse than look at a recent academic study which shows that the European Parliament has one of the weakest regulatory regimes for lobbying in the world.Based on the comments and questions from MEPs when ALTER-EU recently

Vicky Cannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16927749523948885834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-82145983335442409522011-06-03T09:27:00.008+02:002011-06-03T09:56:39.896+02:002011-06-03T09:56:39.896+02:00

Concerns about excessive bureaucracy, or arbitrary limits being placed on gifts which MEPs can receive, or fears for the careers of MEPs at the end of their term in office, were just some of the disappointing responses when the ALTER-EU coalition gave evidence on the new proposed code of conduct for MEPs on Tuesday night.As a result of the Sunday Times' cash-for-amendments expose earlier this

Vicky Cannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16927749523948885834noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-66402840056498414622011-05-20T14:35:00.019+02:002011-05-20T17:35:25.497+02:002011-05-20T17:35:25.497+02:00

After the intense debate and media attention in the first weeks after the European Parliament's cash-for-amendments scandal broke, it has become very quiet in the last weeks. Discussions about transparency and ethics reforms in the wake of the scandal take place in secrecy in a working group of ten MEPs, led by Parliament President Buzek, in weekly meetings behind closed doors. There are

Olivier Hoedemannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-11535582762347602422011-05-19T13:28:00.011+02:002011-05-19T13:49:51.777+02:002011-05-19T13:49:51.777+02:00

I just started work at Corporate Europe Observatory last week as Lobbycracy campaigner. The complex and secret world of the EU institutions is not new to me: afterall I used to work on European trade policy so I'm used to seeing untransparency in action and how corporate lobby interests dominate the thinking of EU institutions.But in my first few days in Brussels, my attention has been much more

Vicky Cannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16927749523948885834noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-67884547321895100642011-04-04T16:31:00.010+02:002011-04-05T11:33:23.674+02:002011-04-05T11:33:23.674+02:00

Former internal market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy waited just one week after the requirement that he informed the Commission of his professional activities expired, before he signed a contract to join the board of a bank.McCreevy stepped down as a Commissioner in 10 February 2010. In October 2010, he became the first former Commissioner ever to be banned from a job by the Commission when he

Yiorgosnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-20058380135322269652011-03-30T11:06:00.017+02:002011-03-30T15:20:39.591+02:002011-03-30T15:20:39.591+02:00

New rules needed to curb power of corporate lobbyists in the European Parliament Unleashing one of the biggest lobbying scandals in EU history, the Sunday Times has in the last two weeks exposed four MEPs who had agreed to table amendments to change an EU law in return for promised payments. In a sting operation, undercover journalists from the UK newspaper posing as lobbyists for industry

Olivier Hoedemannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-80015982076114355472011-03-14T15:11:00.003+01:002011-03-15T11:58:41.440+01:002011-03-15T11:58:41.440+01:00

On March 7, MEPs in the Parliament's economic affairs committee voted down the vast majority of the amendments inspired by the derivatives industry. This was thanks to the compromise amendments proposed by the rapporteur Pascal Canfin.The MEPs proposed specific measures to stop the irresponsible practice of trading naked sovereign debt instruments (including CDS) opposing what was proposed by the

Yiorgosnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-68077349078558459602011-03-03T17:40:00.012+01:002011-03-14T15:57:49.935+01:002011-03-14T15:57:49.935+01:00

On March 7, the European Parliament's economic affairs committee will vote on amendments to the Commission's proposals to regulate one of the most controversial derivative financial products, Credit Default Swaps. The London MEP Syed Kamall (European Conservative and Reformist group) has tabled 14 amendments that are identical to those tabled by Swedish MEP Olle Schmidt (Alliance of Liberals and

Yiorgosnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-87508769381207717512011-02-21T13:14:00.009+01:002011-02-21T13:29:25.044+01:002011-02-21T13:29:25.044+01:00

MEPs from all sides of the political spectrum last week attacked the Commission's failure to act against the industry dominance of many of its advisory bodies, the so-called expert groups. The Commission came under fierce criticism from more than 15 MEPs who took to the floor during a debate in the European Parliament’s plenary hall, demanding solutions to the expert group problem and insisting

Yiorgosnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7755814639875229254.post-36247711223554620262011-02-21T13:09:00.004+01:002011-02-21T13:15:16.926+01:002011-02-21T13:15:16.926+01:00

A survey done by an intern at Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) has thrown new light on the relations between Danish MEPs and lobbyists. Jacob Hoedeman wrote to Danish MEPs during his internship, asking them for a list of meetings they had had with lobbyists in the last two months of 2010.Eleven out of 13 MEPs responded within the week and only one of these, Liberal Jens Rohde, refused to send a

Olivier Hoedemannoreply@blogger.com0