Corporate Influence: Lobbyists Control European Politicians: Is the EU beholden to lobbyists?

EU Lobbyland

How much influence do interest groups have on EU legislation? Experts are divided, but the online platform LobbyPlag sees a lot. Sometimes, they say, MEPs even copy and paste directly from lobby proposals.

Drafting a new law for some 500 million EU citizens can be a rather daunting and complicated task. So, in order to do the job properly, it seems to make sense for parliamentarians to consult experts on the various options and proposals. Yet, those experts are not always as unbiased as they should be.

When they provide advice with the interests of a certain company or organization in mind, then you' have what is known as lobbying.

Green Party member Jan Philipp Albrecht, spokesman in the EU parliament on efforts to reform the bloc's data protection laws, just recently complained that companies are all too eager to get their positions and interests taken into account by parliamentarians. More eager than other groups; for instance, NGOs.

"In the original draft there was the idea that a company from the US would have to abide by the strict European regulations if it wants to move here. According to the new draft, a company can choose which state it wants as the main seat of the company and then simply look which data protection laws suit it better." Strict rules are systematically being watered down, Maas warns.

Read more: Is the EU beholden to lobbyists? | Europe | DW.DE | 14.02.2013