Welcome to a new autumn episode of EU Watchdog Radio. We will discuss the re-launch of one of Corporate Europe Observatory's flagship initiatives to create more transparency in EU decision making - EU lobby data website Lobbyfacts.eu. This tool was created by Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) and German sister organisation LobbyControl in 2015, and has now been improved and re-launched.
We'll talk to Vicky Cann, researcher at CEO, who has just published new data on the EU lobbying business. Last week, brand new analysis on LobbyFacts revealed that the companies with the highest lobby budgets have increased their spending by a third since 2015.
LobbyFacts, which presents data from the EU transparency register in a user-friendly database, found that the highest spending companies splashed out almost €120 million in 2022. This is a huge increase compared to the roughly €90 million spent between them on lobbying in 2015.
By comparison, the biggest 50 NGOs are listed as spending 40 percent less than the biggest companies. The top 50 companies also appear to have had significantly greater access to the European Commission than the top 50 NGOs since December 2014.
These are just further signs of what we already know - the corporate sector has a far greater lobby footprint in Brussels than public interest groups. Corporate interests continue to dominate Brussels' lobby scene.
Who we are
This podcast is produced by CEO and Counter Balance. Both NGOs raise awareness on the importance of good governance in the EU by researching issues like lobbying of large and powerful industries, corporate capture of decision making, corruption, fraud, human rights violations in areas like Big Tech, agro-business, biotech and chemical companies, the financial sector and public investment banks, trade, energy and climate, scientific research and much more…
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