Thursday

1st Jun 2023

Finland rejects call to end sponsorship of EU presidency

  • Coca-Cola advertising in Bucharest, Romania. The giant drinks company sponsored the Romanian EU presidency during the first six months of 2019 (Photo: kristofarndt)

The new rotating president of the EU Council, Finland, is not planning to discuss with other member states the issue of EU member states accepting corporate sponsorships to cover part of the costs of the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU.

"We do not foresee any discussions of corporate sponsorship of EU presidencies with other member states," a spokeswoman told EUobserver.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • BMW has made a hundred cars available to the Finnish presidency of the EU during the second half of 2019 (Photo: EU2019FI)

"Finland decided to make an agreement with only one sponsor (BMW) during its presidency. However, each member state has the competence to decide on these matters for itself," she added.

Finland took over as president of the council, the EU institution where national governments meet, from Romania on 1 July.

Finnish prime minister Antti Rinne will present the country's plans for the EU presidency at a debate in the European Parliament on Wednesday (17 July).

In April, a group of 97 members of the European Parliament wrote a letter to Rinne's predecessor, then Finnish prime minister Juhu Sipila, asking for more transparency in the council.

They specifically asked Finland to refuse any corporate sponsorship and to "make a proposal to other member states that all future presidencies agree to such a rule".

"The sponsorship of the current and previous presidencies by automotive, software, and beverage companies, many of whom have an active interest in influencing EU decision-making, is politically damaging," they said.

Romania held the EU presidency in the first six months of 2019, and it was sponsored by carmakers Renault and Mercedes, and drinks multinational Coca-Cola.

The non-governmental organisation (NGO) Foodwatch criticised Romania for having accepted a sponsorship by Coca-Cola "in a time of major obesity problems and additional disease burdens such as type 2 diabetes".

"It is important to avoid policy being influenced by commercial interests. But even the appearance of a conflict of interest alone should be avoided, as this adversely affects confidence in politics, especially in a time of declining trust in politics and politicians," said the NGO.

Dutch far-left MEP Dennis de Jong sent the council parliamentary questions, asking how much Coca-Cola paid, what the multinational received in return, and how the council can prove that "the agenda and the policies discussed during Romania's presidency of the Council of the EU remained free of influence by Coca-Cola despite the sponsorship".

The council said it could not answer those questions.

"The organisation of the presidency, including a decision to seek sponsorship for elements of the presidency, is a matter for the member state authorities concerned. It is not for the council to reply to questions that are the responsibility of its presidency," it said.

Corporate sponsorship of the presidency of the council is not new, but according to another NGO it has in recent years become the rule rather than the exception.

"Corporate sponsorship is now an established part of rotating presidencies," said Corporate Europe Observatory in a report earlier this year.

"The Maltese presidency of 2017 proactively invited sponsorship proposals from Maltese companies, promising 'priceless exposure, prestige and enhanced brand recognition' in return; BMW, AirMalta, and Microsoft are among those who took up the offer," the report added.

At least eight states holding the presidency consecutively took sponsorship deals: the Netherlands, Slovakia, Malta, Estonia, Bulgaria, Austria, Romania, and now Finland.

A sponsorship agreement does not always involve money, but could also be provided in kind. BMW has made a hundred cars available to the Finnish presidency, for example.

Croatian business opportunity

Croatia, which will take the baton from Finland on 1 January 2020, is already paving the way to continue this trend.

Its EU presidency action plan, adopted last April, noted that previous presidencies also used sponsors, and that Croatia planned to select sponsors as well.

That same month, a Croatian communications agency identified the presidency of the EU council as a business opportunity.

"Croatian businesses have a huge opportunity to promote their own products through sponsorships of meetings and events," one of the agency's PR consultants wrote in a blog post titled How to benefit from the Croatian Presidency of the EU Council?

"The presiding member state, Croatia in 2020, is free to determine which opportunities it offers to its own private businesses; the European institutions do not have a say," the post went on.

"Now is the chance for private companies to get involved, advocate for access, and seize the opportunity to gain greater market positioning on the EU level," it concluded.

Exclusive

Belgium prepares probe into Politico tobacco sponsorship

Tobacco company British American Tobacco sponsored the popular Playbook newsletter this week - saying it is not against the law because the advertisements were not about specific products. Now the Belgian authorities are preparing to investigate.

Irish firms to battle over EU presidency sponsorship

In a sign of the prestige and economic benefits that the six month rotating presidencies can bring EU member states, Irish companies are set to battle to have their logos everywhere during their country's presidency.

Exclusive

Big Oil sponsors Croatia's EU presidency

Croatia's national oil company has become the EU council presidency's "official gasoline supplier" - in a move that appears to clash with aspirations of the European Green Deal. Critics say such sponsorships pose a reputational risk with the wider public.

EU to keep corporate sponsorship of presidencies

The chief administrators of the Council, representing member states, have issued draft guidelines on corporate sponsorships of EU presidencies. The guidelines do not ban sponsorships - despite the risks they pose to the EU's reputation as a whole.

Column

What a Spanish novelist can teach us about communality

In a world where cultural clashes and sectarianism seems to be on the increase, Spanish novelist Javier Cercas (b.1962) takes the opposite approach. He cherishes both life in the big city and in the countryside.

Opinion

Poland and Hungary's ugly divorce over Ukraine

What started in 2015 as a 'friends-with-benefits' relationship between Viktor Orbán and Jarosław Kaczyński, for Hungary and Poland, is ending in disgust and enmity — which will not be overcome until both leaders leave.

Latest News

  1. Europe's TV union wooing Lavrov for splashy interview
  2. ECB: eurozone home prices could see 'disorderly' fall
  3. Adapting to Southern Europe's 'new normal' — from droughts to floods
  4. Want to stop forced migration from West Africa? Start by banning bottom trawling
  5. Germany unsure if Orbán fit to be 'EU president'
  6. EU Parliament chief given report on MEP abuse 30 weeks before sanction
  7. EU clashes over protection of workers exposed to asbestos
  8. EU to blacklist nine Russians over jailing of dissident

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. InformaConnecting Expert Industry-Leaders, Top Suppliers, and Inquiring Buyers all in one space - visit Battery Show Europe.
  2. EFBWWEFBWW and FIEC do not agree to any exemptions to mandatory prior notifications in construction
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us