SpinWatch' research show just how pervasive the presence of Goldman Sachs is in Brussels, although on the surface it is nowhere. But scratch that surface and it is everywhere. It can operate through a dozen or so highly active lobbying groups, it sits on the Commission’s expert groups which have a direct influence on policy
An alliance of transparency campaigners today urged a root and branch overhaul of ethics rules for MEPs, following the revelations published in UK newspaper, the Sunday Times (20 March) exposing how three MEPs were prepared to accept payments in return for tabling amendments in the European Parliament.
Public health and transparency campaigners have sent a joint letter to the European Commission challenging the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) decision to allow its former Executive Director, Thomas Lönngren, to take up an advisory role within the private pharmaceutical sector just weeks after leaving his position with the regulatory agency.
Six years after the launch of the European Transparency Initiative, there’s still a long way to go to reach the goal of transparency around the role of lobbying in EU decision-making.