| Date: 10/07/2012 Time: 08:29:00 PM |
Industry experts and corporate lobbyists have
effectively captured key areas of policy advice within the European
Commission, the executive body of the European Union, according to a new study.
The research carried out by The Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and
Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU) was launched in Brussels Tuesday.
The study finds that two thirds of all of non-governmental advisory groups
in the European Commission's department of Enterprise and Industry are
dominated by big business interests with some 482 corporate advisors
influencing key areas of policy, such as international trade, consumer
protection, food and environmental protection.
In contrast, the interests of small and medium-sized enterprises have
little opportunity to influence policy decisions through advisory groups,
accounting for just five percent of the total non-governmental representatives.
ALTER-EU argues that allowing big companies' interests to dominate risks
that the interests of these companies are given greater priority than the
public interest.
The study calls calling on the European Commission to make major changes in
the composition of its advisory groups to ensure that the public interest is
properly served.
The Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU) is
a coalition of about 200 civil society groups, trade unions, academics and
public affairs firms concerned with the increasing influence exerted by
corporate lobbyists on the political agenda in Europe. |