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What is a lobbyist ? The definition alone can be confusing. In a broad sense, the term refers to any entity representing and defending interests. Thus, if someone who works for Philip Morris (a tobacco company) or Monsanto (an agricultural company) can be called a lobbyist, an environmentalist who works for Greenpeace or a representative of a consumer association can also be a lobbyist.
Apart from the usual suspects, what can we find in Brussels ? The answer is : everything. Below, a small selection for your amusement.
Even tea (without the Party)
The European Pet Food Industry Federation (FEDIAF)
It is not only Nestle or Danone seeking to protect their interests in what is served on our plates in Brussels, Canigou, Royal Canin and Whiskas are there too. However, do not believe that it is only for the love of animals ; in France alone, the pet-food market is worth €2.3 billion.
It is not only Nestle or Danone seeking to protect their interests in what is served on our plates in Brussels, Canigou, Royal Canin and Whiskas are there too. However, do not believe that it is only for the love of animals ; in France alone, the pet-food market is worth €2.3 billion.
European Ice Cream Association
This particular market is worth €9 billion, comprising 100 companies employing 15,000 people in Europe. On the website, you can find all the information you could want, from the ingredients for making ice-cream to the address of the person to contact to suggest .... a new flavour.
European Breakfast Cereal Association
Behind the sacrosanct breakfast, it’s serious. In 2010, after receiving direct support from the Dutch MEP Esther de Lange, "Breakfast Week” was organized in the European Parliament, a sort of annual event to promote the industry directly to policymakers with a buffet breakfast offered to everyone in corridors of the institution.
Photos of the event are available on Facebook.
- « Breakfast Week » : historic breakfasts
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The European Breakfast Cereal Association has brought a bold communication strategy to Brussels, particularly among MEPs, as shown in this excerpt from the latest invitation to « Breakfast Week »
European Herbal Infusions Association / ETC - European Tea Committee
Not to be confused with the Tea Party in the United States.
Association of European Manufacturers of Sporting Ammunition (AFEMS)
On their website, the visitor is greeted by a banner with the slogan « thinking ahead ». Sound advice for those with guns…
Federation of the Condiment and Sauce Industries
Even ketchup and mayonnaise have their champions ... and they are not laughing. In 2006, they published a Code of Practice for mustard, ketchup and mayonnaise.
The list of more “original” lobbyists is almost endless. There is the European Federation of Parquet Industry, the organisation Tiles and Bricks of Europe and the Federation of the Associations of the EU Broth and Soup Industries (FAIBP) to name but a few.
Sometimes, the organisations represented are highly specialised, with trickier names : the European Phenolic Resins Associations, for example. For your information, phenolic resins are in fact a kind of plastic.
However, it all boils down to one question : is all this really useful ?
Recognising Brussels as a centre of power
Behind the smiling faces of these lobbies, if companies take the trouble to form associations or federations, and pay for an office in Brussels, there is a reason that transcends all others :
« If they are there, it means that that decisions are made here. And if such lobbyists exist these decisions concern these areas, » says Carolyn de Cock, independent lobbyist based in Brussels and blogger known as LinotheRhino. « In the fields of food processing and telecommunications, almost everything happens in Brussels, so it is up to companies to be present as experts and advisors in their sector. »
But the lobbyist adds that « the moment of transposing EU law into national law is also very important. A directive, as its name suggests, gives directions. And sometimes, some groups haven’t the means to continue working at EU level, which is more expensive, but this stops them from achieving the intended purpose of their approach ».
Almost overnight Brussels became full of such people and organisations. Now the European district teems with them, as they move between the Council, Parliament or the Commission. This is symptomatic of being a major decision centre. In an interview given in Le Monde, Arianna Huffington suggested that, in Washington DC, there are « 13,700 registered lobbyists » or « 26 lobbyists for each member of Congress » who are reported to have spent in 2009 « a record $3.5 billion, double that spent in 2002 ».
The figures in Brussels are less concrete. According to the register started by the European Commission, where registration is not mandatory, there are supposedly 3180 lobbies. But the actual number could be much higher. 4000 ? 5000 ? Nobody really knows.
The Commission encourages these groups
The other figure responsible for this proliferation of these sometimes « crazy” groups is the European Commission itself. »The European institutions encourage these groups, preferring to talk with representatives who have negotiated a common denominator with all of the industry concerned. This provides a sweeter side to positions while it sounds simpler to staff,« commented Caroline de Cock, while adding that »it is not surprising to see many so-called original representations in the food industry since the European Union has been dealing with the issue for so long. They are even more professional than other, newer areas which may seem more serious, like telecoms."
The devil is in the detail
To help us get to grips with the phenomenon, the « Lobby Planet Guide » was published in the early 2000s, which intended to « introduce you to the hidden world of lobbyists. » It was written by a Dutch research centre, the Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), aiming to highlight "the threats to democracy, equity, social justice and the environment that these groups can represent.’
Recently there has even been a special prize for the « worst lobby » organized by the same think tank. Proponents of financial deregulation and the climate change sceptics have been attached to the 2010 award as potential “winners”.
But ultimately, does a lobby, be it large or small, stay the same, always more or less playing on words and with the public interest ? Browsing through the guide lines on ketchup and mayonnaise mentioned above, it is explained that the code was produced in order to improve the single market and consumer interest.
However, examining the details, one can see that it is the industries that control these lobbies and that sometimes the definition of food can be vague.
Thus, referring to the mayonnaise, it is said that « eggs and egg-based products must be from hen eggs or obtained from hen eggs. » In other words, derivatives and substitutes derived from eggs are allowed, without specifying the percentage of eggs they should contain. It suggests the possibility of adding the « sugars » that the traditional recipe does not really allow.
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Le top 10 des lobbys européens les plus improbables
Die zehn unwahrscheinlichsten europäischen Lobbies
(10)
