Decisions in Brussels - European Women's Lobby

(Brussels, 22 October) The European Women’s Lobby and other Brussels based advocacy and lobby groups have been mapped by the New York Times. In an article called ‘Clustering Near the Seat of Power’ the newspaper maps the organisations that have signed the transparency register. More than 5,700 corporations, lobbying firms, law firms and nonprofit groups have joined a registry of institutions that lobby the European Union, of which about 2,000 have offices in Brussels.

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“As the European Union has emerged as a regulatory superpower affecting 28 countries that collectively form the world’s largest economy, its policies have become ever more important to corporations operating across borders. In turn, the influence business in Brussels has become ever larger and more competitive” says the article, charting the rise of powerful law firms. “The rules here differ in significant ways — for starters, the European system is not greased by corporate campaign contributions, which are banned or strictly limited in many member countries.” The firms are taking advantage of weak ethics rules in Brussels, including one that allows some former government officials to begin exploiting their connections the day they leave office. Isabelle Durant, a vice president of the European Parliament from Belgium who served on the committee that three years ago helped create the voluntary disclosure program, also expressed concern. “I am not against lobbying, but I am against lobbying opacity,” she said. “We have to know who works for whom and how much money they are being paid.” Read more here.

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