Attempts to make the EU lobby register mandatory and applicable to all three main EU institutions have repeatedly been stalled by inter-institutional conflicts (Photo: Daniel Huizinga)

Feature

How corporate lobbyists steer EU law-making

Investigations

EU Political

by Peter Teffer, Utrecht,

Attempts to make the EU lobby register mandatory and applicable to all three main EU institutions have repeatedly been stalled by inter-institutional conflicts (Photo: Daniel Huizinga)

Lobbyists have operated in Brussels for almost as long as the European institutions settled down there.

In 1965, several Dutch newspapers reported with a sense of amazement how "pressure groups" had descended in the unofficial European capital to influence officials working for the European Economic Community (EEC) - the then seven years-old predecessor to the European Union.

The journalists highlighted the smorgasbord of corporate interests represented by such groups: the faucet...

Get EU news that matters

Back our independent journalism by becoming a supporting member

Already a member? Login here

Investigations EU Political Feature

Author Bio

Peter Teffer is an investigative journalist who was part of the EUobserver reporting team from 2014 to 2019. His book Het lijkt Washington wel: Hoe lobbyisten Brussel in hun greep hebben [It looks like Washington here. How lobbyists dominate Brussels] is available in Dutch from 12 March.