THE LOBBYTOMIE AND THE EUROPEAN UNION TRANSPARENCY REGISTER
THE LOBBYTOMIE AND THE EUROPEAN UNION TRANSPARENCY REGISTER

Summary/Abstract: Brussels is the lobbying capital of Europe. And so it is not difficult to understand why, big companies, industry interest groups, lobbying consultants and law firms spend hundreds of millions of euros every year to ensure that EU policy meets the needs of "big companies"… and their efforts very often they are crowned with success! It is estimated that more than 25,000 lobbyists work in the European Quarter, most of them serving businesses and their interest groups. Every time the European Commission proposes a regulation, or when the European Parliament votes on a new directive, corporate lobbyists are present, far more numerous than the groups that defend the public interest and equipped with much more significant financial resources. On certain issues, the imbalance is staggering: thus, in the case of European financial regulation, the lobbying costs incurred by the banking sector are thirty times higher than those of NGOs, trade unions and other interest groups. This imbalance and the opportunities for corruption were even greater before the Lobbying Transparency Register was enacted.

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