Corporate Europe Observatory went through Ursula von der Leyen’s priorities for each of the candidate-commissioners (the so-called ‘Mission Letters). We found over 15 different tools for systemic deregulation and slashing standards.
A basic lack of transparency around the EU’s vaccines procurement negotiations has prevented effective public and parliamentary scrutiny. It has also made it impossible to answer some of the key questions we put forward here.
Under the influence of another intense lobby campaign, EU civil servants are drafting policy options which would grant big business new legal privileges, a push that would enable industry to bypass national courts when settling disputes with EU member states.
The marketisation of health and long-term care, the push for Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), and the public spending cuts encouraged by EU economic governance processes all contributed to the increased commercialisation, privatisation, and reduction of health and long-term care services.
An outcry from major European city governments – including Amsterdam, Berlin, Madrid, Barcelona and Budapest – has helped shelve an EU Commission power grab over municipalities’ services industries, such as in affordable housing, energy supply and waste management.
It’s time for the EU Commission to get its house in order and close the doors to tobacco lobby influence once and for all.
Influential. Investigative. Independent. EUobserver is a online non-profit news outlet reporting on the European Union.
The unprecedented severity of the economic crisis and the obvious inadequacy of the EU regulatory system in preventing its escalation, means the European Parliament should set up a special committee to investigate the degree to which corporate policy influence has prevented the emergence of desperately needed regulation of financial markets, writes Olivier Hoedeman.
The European Parliament must develop strong and effective transparency rules. This requires learning the bitter lessons from the last time these important issues were on the Parliament’s agenda, more than a decade ago, says Olivier Hoedeman.
ExxonMobil has for years donated tens of thousands of dollars to Europe-based think-tanks which are ardent opponents of the EU’s efforts to combat climate change. Commissioner Siim Kallas upcoming lobbyist rulebook is one chance to lift the veil of secrecy around this practice, but will he deliver asks Olivier Hoedeman of Corporate Europe Observatory.