The Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

research and campaign group whose declared aim is to "expose any effects of corporate lobbying on EU

policy making Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an orga ...

". It is based in Brussels. The team (2021) consists of 13 staff members.

Areas of work

EU decisions and policies often mirror the interests of big business, as a result of the corporate capture of EU decision-making processes. This has consequences in terms of social and economic injustice and inequality, climate change and environmental destruction. Thus, CEO has developed a particular expertise in the following EU policy areas: agriculture, food safety, energy, climate change, EU lobbying regulation, trade, investment, economy, and finance. Corporate Europe Observatory's reports often attract the attention of media from all over the world. Recently, it gained international attention by announcing (in a joint publication with

Global Witness Global Witness is an international NGO established in 1993 that works to break the links between natural resource exploitation, conflict, poverty, corruption, and human rights abuses worldwide. The organisation has offices in London and Washi ...

and

Corporate Accountability Corporate accountability is the acknowledgement and assumption of responsibility for the consequences of a company's actions. It can be defined in narrowly financial terms, e.g. for a business to meet certain standards or address the regulatory re ...

) that at COP26 the

fossil fuel industry A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels ma ...

had the largest delegation at the summit. With French NG
Observatoire des multinationales
CEO issued a report on

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017 French presidential election, 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, M ...

's French Presidency of the

EU Council The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...

which shows how the French EU Presidency had been prepared closely with the industry, raising several democratic concerns. CEO's work as a lobby watchdog of big pharma and

big tech Big Tech, also known as the Tech Giants, refers to the most dominant companies in the information technology industry, mostly located in the United States. The term also refers to the four or five largest American tech companies, called the B ...

, has also issued significant reports, which were published in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', and

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...

Working in coalitions

Corporate Europe Observatory carries out research and publishes reports on corporate lobbying activities at the EU level. CEO is one of the founders of the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU). This coalition of over 160 civil society groups, trade unions, academics and public affairs firms monitors the influence of lobbyists on the political agenda in Europe. In 2010 ALTER-EU published "Bursting the Brussels Bubble". This collection of articles provides an insight into decision-making in the European Union and explores some lobbying techniques. CEO jointly organises the

Worst EU Lobbying Awards The Worst or Worst may refer to: * ''The Worst'', a 1997 album by Sarcófago, or its title track * ''The Worst'', a 2000 album by Tech N9ne, or its title track * ''The Worst'', a 2004 EP by Lower Class Brats, or its title track * "The Worst" (On ...

, which are given to the lobby group, which uses "the most deceptive, misleading or otherwise problematic lobbying tactics in their attempts to influence EU decision-making" in a given year.

References

External links

*
Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU)

Worst EU Lobbying Awards

* ttps://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/14/technology/big-tech-lobbying-europe.html The New York Times: "Big Tech Turns Its Lobbyists Loose on Europe, Alarming Regulators"
Euractiv: "NGOs concerned about role of big business in preparations of French EU presidency"

Jacobin: "Big Pharma’s EU Lobbying Could Spell Disaster for Global South Vaccine Waivers"

Reuters: "EU Commission investigated over secrecy of COVID-19 contracts"

EU Observer: "EU's 'secret' vaccine negotiators: Who's dealing with Big Pharma?"

Politico: "EU border agency Frontex met with scores of unregistered lobbyists: report"

* ttps://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-59199484 BBC: "COP26: Fossil fuel industry has largest delegation at climate summit" {{Authority control Political organisations based in Belgium Organisations based in Brussels 1997 establishments in Belgium International organisations based in Belgium