Brusselsthe EU quarter

Explore the corporate lobbying paradise

This concise guide introduces you to the hidden world of corporate lobby-ing in Brussels.

Text: Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO)Cartoon front cover: Khalil BendibMap: Paradigmshift.nlPictures: Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO)Lay out: Zlatan Peric.Our thanks also go to all others who have in one way or another con-tributed to this guide.

The contents of this Lobby Planet Guide may be quoted or reproduced fornon-commercial purposes, provided that the source of information isacknowledged. If you use the Lobby Planet Guide as a source (of inspira-tion), CEO would appreciate to receive a copy of your article or publication.

3rd slightly revised edition – July 2005

Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is an Amsterdam-based researchand campaign group targeting the threats to democracy, equity, social jus-tice and the environment posed by the economic and political power of cor-porations and their lobby groups.

Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO)De Wittenstraat 25, 1052 AK Amsterdam, The Netherlandstel: +31-20-6127023fax: +31-20-6861208email: ceo@corporateeurope.orgwebsite: www.corporateeurope.org

This Guide

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THIS GUIDE 1

MAP OF HOTSPOTS IN THE BRUSSELS EU QUARTER 4

FOREWORD 6

FACTS ABOUT THE BRUSSELS EU QUARTER 7

Getting There & Away ...............................................................................7Who Lobbies & How .................................................................................8

WELCOME TO THE BRUSSELS LOBBYCRACY 9

The Most Lobbied EU Institutions.............................................................9

ROND-POINT SCHUMAN 10

Boeing, Airbus, DuPont, Dow Chemical, British Petroleum and PhilipMorris ......................................................................................................10

RUE DE LA LOI 11

Centre Berlaymont: European Commission............................................11Justus Lipsius: Council of Ministers ........................................................11Résidence Palace: European Policy Centre (EPC), the Lisbon Council and TechCentralStation ..............................................................11The Charlemagne building: Directorates-General for Trade, ExternalRelations and EU Enlargement...............................................................12

AVENUE DE CORTENBERGH 13

Avenue de Cortenbergh 60 : Thales, E.ON and BASF ..........................13Industry 1 – People & Planet 0 ...............................................................13Avenue de Cortenbergh 118: US Chamber of Commerce, Unilever,Addleshaw Goddard, Hill & Knowlton, Burson-Marsteller and the Bromine Science and Environmental Forum (BSEF) . ...........................14Front Group for the Bromine Industry .....................................................15Avenue de Cortenbergh 168: UNICE and the European Services Forum......................................................................................................15Avenue de Cortenbergh 107: Directorate-General for the Internal Market .....................................................................................................16Competitiveness Craze ...........................................................................16

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Contents

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RUE FROISSART 17

Transatlantic Policy Network (TPN) and the TransAtlantic BusinessDialogue (TABD) .....................................................................................17Transatlantic Tricksters ...........................................................................17

RUE DE LA VERVEINE 18

LÉOPOLD PARC 19

Friends of Europe, Forum Europe and the New Defence Agenda.........19Brussels Military-Industrial Complex.......................................................19

RUE WIERTZ 20

Society of European Affairs Professionals (SEAP), Weber Shandwick and the International Council for Capital Formation.............20Parliament Teeming with Lobbyists.........................................................20

PLACE & RUE DU LUXEMBOURG 21

Grayling, the European Seeds Association and the Centre for a New Europe ....................................................................................21Genetic Battlefields .................................................................................22

RUE GUIMARD 23

Herbert Smith ..........................................................................................23Rightwing Revolution in Brussels?..........................................................23

OUTSIDE THE EU QUARTER 24

EU Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), the United States ....................................................................................24Mission to the EU and the European Roundtable of Industrialists (ERT).......................................................................................................24

TURNING THE TIDE 25

Lobbying Transparency and Ethics?.......................................................25Guided Tours of the EU quarter ..............................................................25Further Reading & Research ..................................................................25

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The stars on the map indicate where you can find the buildings described in this guide:

1 Berlaymont (Rue de la Loi 200) : European Commission headquarters

2 Justus Lipsius (Rue de la Loi 175) : Headquarters of the EU Council of Ministers

3 Avenue de Cortenbergh 60 : BASF lobbying headquarters

4 Avenue de Cortenbergh 107Directorat-General Internal Market

5 Avenue de Cortenbergh 168Headquarters of UNICE (European industrial and employers confederation)European Services Forum (ESF)

6 Avenue de Cortenbergh 118Hill & Knowlton, Burson Marsteller / BKSH (PA en PR firms)Bromine Science and Environment Forum (industry front group)

7 Residence Palace (Rue de la Loi 155)International Press CentreEuropean Policy Centre (think tank depending on corporate funding)TechCentralStation (ultra-liberal US think tank)

8 Charlemagne Building (Rue de la Loi 170)Directorat-General TradeDirectorat-General External RelationsDirectorat-General Enlargement

9 Regus Building (Rond-Point Schuman 6)Dow Europe (US chemicals giant)DuPont (US chemicals giant)

10 Rue Froissart 115Transatlantic Policy Network (EU and US parliamentarians and business leaders)Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD)

11 Rue de la VerveineBuilding site reconquered by natureView on buildings European Parliament

12 Bibliothèque Solvay (Léopold Parc)Friends of Europe, Forum Europe (think tanks depending oncorporate funding)New Defense Agenda (arms industry think tank)

13 Rue WiertzEuropean Parliament – Espace Léopold complexRound-about with tree and memorial stones (sponsored by the Societyof European Affairs Professionals)

14 Léopold Parc Building (Rue Wiertz 50)Weber Shandwick (PR and lobbying firm)International Council for Capital Formation (US think tank)

15 Rue du Luxembourg 23Centre for the New Europe (ultra free market think tank)European Seed Association (pro-biotech lobby group)

16 Rue Guimard 15Herbert Smith (international law firm specialised in lobbying on WTO issues)

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MAP OF HOTSPOTS IN THE BRUSSELS EU QUARTER

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Despite the steadily growing politicalpower of big business, the murkyworld of corporate lobbying remainsvirtually unknown to the generalpublic. Concerned by the impacts ofcorporate control over EU politics ondemocracy and the quality of socialand environmental legislation,Corporate Europe Observatory(CEO) has been working since 1997to put the spotlights on lobbying inBrussels. We publish our findings inprint and on our website www.corpo-rateeurope.org.

Since a few years, Corporate EuropeObservatory organises guided toursthrough the EU quarter of Brussels.In this way we have introduced hun-dreds of students, parliamentariansand their assistants, journalists, NGOcampaigners and interested citizensto the hidden world of corporate lob-bying in Brussels. During the tourswe show a selection of the manyheadquarters of lobby groups, PRcompanies and other key players inEU-level corporate politics, locatedconveniently close to the corridors ofpower. In front of the actual build-ings from which corporate lobbyistswork, tour participants get concreteexamples of the impact these lobby-ists have on EU decision-making.

This guidebook allows you to makeyour own exploratory lobby tourthrough the EU quarter. And evenwhen you’re not planning a visit toBrussels, this guide provides a goodand concise introduction to anincreasingly important dimension ofEU politics that is rarely covered inthe media. Although this guide onlycovers a fraction of all lobbying goingon in Brussels, it will give you someinsight into a world you may hardly

have known existed. Awareness is apre-condition for political changeand for rolling back excessive corpo-rate political power. We hope thatthis guidebook will be a source ofinspiration for action in defence ofdemocracy, the environment andsocial justice.

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Foreword

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Things change, not least in theBrussels EU quarter: lobby groupsmove, new high-rise buildings pop upat unexpected locations, and so on.When you spot such changes, pleasetell us, so that we can keep this guideup-to-date and make it more accurateand useful.

We genuinely value all the feedbackwe receive and we read and acknowl-edge every letter, postcard and email.

Send all contributions to:Corporate Europe ObservatoryDe Wittenstraat 251052 AK Amsterdamtel: +31-(0)20-6127023fax: +31-(0)20-6861208ceo@corporateeurope.orgwww.corporateeurope.org

Warning & Request

Brussels has gone through a majortransformation since it developedinto the self-declared capital ofEurope. Nowhere has the metamor-phosis been more dramatic than inthe European quarter in the easternpart of town. Once a wealthy residen-tial neighbourhood known as theQuartier Léopold, with a fair amountof art nouveau architecture, over thepast decades it was transformed intosome kind of Gotham City, largelydeserted after office hours. The areahas been colonised by the ever-expanding office buildings of the EUinstitutions and the booming ecosys-tem of power brokers wanting to belocated in the proximity of power.

The Brussels EU quarter is essentiallythe four square kilometres betweenAvenue des Arts and Parc duCinquantenaire. Demand for officespace in the area is virtually endlessand one street after another has bit-ten the dust to make way for usuallyugly office buildings. Local residentshad little choice but to move out andonly 15,000 people live in the EUquarter today, most of them high-income eurocrats who can afford theskyrocketing rents. During the day,however, over 85,000 people workhere, scattered over thousands ofoffices.

In the 1990’s, empty constructionsites were a common sight in the dis-trict, but today the metamorphosis isalmost complete. Little is left of thegreen and spacious neighbourhoodthat was constructed for the Belgianelite 100 years ago, modelled onBloomsbury in London. The only rea-son to visit the area today is that it isone of the world’s absolute centres ofpower and a magnet for real and

wannabee power brokers. To seeeurocrats and lobbyists in action, thetime to visit is during office hoursand ideally around lunch time. In theevening, not to mention weekends,the area is largely deserted.

Getting There & AwayThe easiest way to get to the EU quar-ter is by taking metro line 1A or 1Band get off at Schuman. If you arriveby train, you could also take a train inthe direction of Louvain la Neuve orNamur/Liers and get off at Brussels-Schuman station (or at Brussels-Luxembourg station if you want tostart your walk from the EuropeanParliament). Don’t forget to bring anumbrella, as it rains on some 170days a year in Brussels according tolocal weather statistics.

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Facts about the Brussels EU Quarter

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The total number of lobbyists in Brussels is unknown, but their total number is esti-mated to be around 15,000. Over 70% works directly or indirectly for corporate inter-ests, some 20% represent the interests of regions, cities and international institutionswhile only around 10% represent non-governmental organisations, including tradeunions, public health organisations or environmental groups.

Almost every industry imaginable has its own sectoral lobby group in Brussels, vary-ing from the tiny European Bottled Watercooler Association, to the chemical industryfederation CEFIC with over 140 employees in a big building on Avenue E. VanNieuwenhuyse, outside the EU quarter. Many firms specialise in ‘public affairs’ (PA)and ‘public relations’, employing a total of well over a thousand people in Brussels.The five biggest PR and PA firms in Brussel are (in alphabetical order): APCO, Burson-Marsteller, Fleishman-Hillard, Hill & Knowlton and Weber Shandwick. These firms arehired by industry groups and companies to lobby EU officials or to provide their clientswith intelligence and strategic advice.

One such lobbying consultancy is Kimmons & Kimmons, led by a former lobbyist forpharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline. At a training course on lobbying in Brussels,Chrissie Kimmons outlined a long list of possible lobbying strategies which industryuses depending on the circumstances, including:

- ‘the gunship’aggressive lobbying including threats of relocation if policy proposals are not dropped(only to be used if other tactics do not work)

- ‘the Kofi Annan’ (also known as ‘the Trojan horse’)constructive engagement, offering decision-makers a mutually acceptable compro-mise (a strategy very commonly used in Brussels)

- ‘good-cop bad-cop’one company or lobby group takes a hardline position, which allows others to takecentre-stage with what may be presented as constructive compromise solutions

- ‘the dentist’first ‘pull out the worst teeth’ from a disliked piece of legislation and then come backfor further ‘treatment’

- ‘the third party’reaching out to NGOs and unions to find a compromise on a disputed issue

- ‘the donkey’winning over decision-makers by capitalising on their interests and preferences, butstopping short of seduction and bribery

Who Lobbies and How

The complex, often unaccountableEU decision-making procedures andthe lack of a truly European publicdebate make Brussels into a paradisefor corporate lobbyists. Brussels nowcompetes with Washington D.C. forbeing the global capital of lobbying.The Brussels corporate lobbyingscene numbers well over 1,000 lobbygroups plus hundreds of public rela-tions companies and law firms offer-ing lobbying services, dozens of cor-porate-funded think-tanks as well asseveral hundred ‘EU affairs’ offices,run by individual corporations. Ofthe over 15,000 professional lobby-ists estimated to work in Brussels, aclear majority represents the interestsof big business. Social and environ-

mental groups, although increasinglyrepresented in Brussels, cannotmatch the financial and organisation-al power mobilised by industry. TheEuropean chemical industry federa-tion CEFIC alone for example hasmore lobbyists in Brussels than allenvironmental organisations togeth-er.

The European Commission, whichhas the exclusive right to proposeand develop new EU legislation, isone of the main targets for lobbyists.But as the European Parliament’spowers have gradually increased,more and more lobbyists are activethere.

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Welcome to the Brussels Lobbycracy

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The European Commission has the exclusive power to propose new EU legislation,and the mandate to control the implementation of EU regulations. While theCommission is often perceived as un-transparent and unaccountable, things are actu-ally far worse in the Council of Ministers. Via the Council, national governments havethe final say over legislative proposals made by the Commission, decisions madebehind closed doors. An estimated 90% of Council decisions are taken by theCommittee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper), made up of the Member States’ambassadors to the EU, before the ministers even meet. Major decisions on the EU’sfuture development are made by the European Council, attended by presidents andprime ministers of the 25 member states. The powers of the once-feeble EuropeanParliament have grown significantly in the last decades. On many issues, though stillfar from all, it now has powers to approve, block or adapt proposals coming from theEuropean Commission, comparable to the role of the Council of Ministers. Over theyears, the European Parliament has expanded from originally 142 members from sixcountries in 1957 to 732 members from 25 different countries today. Although theEuropean Parliament buildings in Brussels are huge and still expanding, the officialseat of the Parliament is in Strasbourg. Every month all 732 MEPs and their assistantsmake the trip to Strasbourg for one week of plenary sessions in another megalomani-ac building.

The Most Lobbied EU Institutions

Standing in the little park in the cen-tre of this roundabout you are reallyat the heart of the EU quarter.Looking westward along the Rue dela Loi you have the futuristic head-quarters of the European Com-mission on your right and the pinkfortress of the Council building onyour left. Between noon and twoo’clock in the afternoon, the pave-ments around are crowded with euro-crats and lobbyists on their way tosome ‘power lunch’ in one of themany nearby restaurants.

The Rond-Point Schuman is alsohome to the EU affairs offices of agrowing number of large corpora-tions. Take a peek at the nameplate inthe lobby of the Regus centre, atnumber 6. Boeing and Airbus, com-

peting for dominance of global airlinemarkets, have their Brussels lobbyingoffices here, as do two major USchemical corporations, DuPont andDow Chemical. Both are heavilyinvolved in campaigning againsttighter EU environmental and healthregulations on toxic chemicals, theso-called REACH. New arrivals atthis prestigious square are the EUlobbying offices of British Petroleumand tobacco and food giant PhilipMorris, both at number 11.R

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Rond-Point Schuman

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Headquartersof the EUCouncil ofMinisters

This 1.5 kilometre, traffic-heavyboulevard is the focal axis of the EUquarter, dividing it roughly into twohalves. Walking its footpaths afteroffice hours or on the weekend is avery lonely experience. The first part of the Rue de la Loi israther quiet, but a few hundredmetres to the west a steady stream ofcars emerges from an undergroundroad tunnel, heading for the centre ofBrussels along this grim, office-linedhighway.

Centre BerlaymontRue de la Loi 200 is the address of thenew European Commission head-quarters. The 13-floor X-shaped sky-scraper, nicknamed the ‘Berlay-monstre’, re-opened in the autumn of2004 after 13 years of asbestos-relatedrenovation and major rebuilding. Atthe top of the glass-covered tower,overlooking Brussels, is the newmeeting room of the 25 EuropeanCommissioners, led by president JoséManuel Durão Barroso. The 2,200office rooms in the building house the25 Commissioners, their cabinets andsupporting staff, totalling some 3,000people. The rest of the total 18,000Commission staff are based in thebuildings of the Directorates-Generalthat are spread across the EU quarter.

Justus LipsiusThis plump, fortress-like building(Rue de la Loi 175) houses the secre-tariat of the European Council, witha staff of 2,400 people. Although thebuilding covers some 240,000 squaremetres of floor space, it is beingexpanded again to accommodate thedelegations of the growing number ofEU member states and the bi-annualEU Summits which take place here, asof 2004. Justus Lipsius is also used for

most Council sessions and for meet-ings of the many committees com-posed of technical experts and diplo-mats from the EU member states.

Résidence PalaceThis former luxury apartment build-ing (Rue de la Loi 155) is now prima-rily used for press conferences andpublic relations events organised bylobby groups, think tanks and NGOsin the International Press Centre onthe ground floor. Many media organi-sations have their office in the build-ing, as well as think tanks like theEuropean Policy Centre (EPC), theLisbon Council or the journo-lobby-ing website TechCentralStation. Ofthe many think tanks that have set upshop in Brussels in the last few years,the European Policy Centre (which isheavily dependent on industry fund-ing) probably has the highest publicprofile. EPC spokespeople often fea-ture in the media as ‘neutral commen-tators’ on EU affairs. On the thirdfloor of the Résidence Palace you findthe Brussels office of TechCentral-Station, an aggressive US journo-lob-bying website funded by companieslike Microsoft, Exxon andMcDonalds. The website www.TechCentralStation.be is full of the kind offurious attacks on environmental andsocial legislation that are more com-monly associated with radio talk-shows from the US mid-west.

The Charlemagne BuildingThis grotesquely oversized buildingof steel and glass (Rue de la Loi 170)is home to the EuropeanCommission’s Directorate-GeneralTrade, which represents the EU dur-ing international trade negotiations.Since 1997, DG Trade has been underpermanent siege by civil society

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groups who argue that trade policiesmust serve global environment andequity goals. Under the TradeCommissioners Leon Brittan andPascal Lamy, the EU worked in closepartnership with the US to jointlydefend narrow commercial interestsduring negotiations in the WorldTrade Organisation (WTO). At theWTO’s summits in Seattle (1999) andCancún (2003), developing countrynegotiators refused to give in toundue EU-US pressure to accept tradedeals that would primarily benefitNorthern industry. New Trade

Commissioner Peter Mandelson isunlikely to bring any positive change.Mandelson, who briefly served asMinister of Trade and Minister ofNorthern Irish under Tony Blair isknown as the ‘Prince of Darkness’ inhis home country. He has been associ-ated with dubious lobbying practicesand has a reputation as politicalmanipulator.

The Charlemagne building is alsohome to the Directorates-General forExternal Relations and for EUEnlargement.

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Résidence Palace and theconstruction site for thefuture location for EUSummits

Don’t be fooled by the charmlesslooks of this grey and noisy street:Avenue de Cortenbergh is one of the‘main streets' of lobbying in Brussels.You can find several representationaloffices of EU member states andregions, next to buildings housing adiverse range of lobbying and PRfirms.

Avenue de Cortenbergh 60Behind the glass facades of this build-ing you will find the Brussels lobby-ing offices of a handful of large cor-porations, including German chemi-

cal giant BASF, French arms andelectronics producer Thales andenergy conglomerate E.ON. BASFleads the industry lobbying offensiveagainst EU attempts to regulate toxicchemicals. When BASF’s EggertVoscherau became president of theEuropean chemicals lobby CEFIC, hereplaced the group’s fairly conciliato-ry approach to REACH with far moreaggressive campaigning. The anti-REACH offensive may well be thelargest and most irresponsible corpo-rate lobbying campaign in EU history.

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Shockingly, up to 99% of all chemicals sold in the EU have not passed any official envi-ronmental or health scrutiny. Among the hundreds of thousands of untested chemicalsin use, many are suspected of causing cancer, allergies, birth defects, reduced fertili-ty and other health problems. The impacts on nature and wildlife are no less serious.The European Commission therefore put forward an ambitious proposal for theRegistration, Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH), which wouldoblige industry to demonstrate the safety of chemical products. According to the 1999proposal, producers should register and provide crucial safety information on tens ofthousands of chemicals. “Very high concern” chemicals, the Commission proposed,should be substituted by safer alternatives, if available. The chemical industry strong-ly disapproved. CEFIC, the association of chemical industries in Europe, has spentmillions of euros on a lobbying and media campaign to delay and weaken the pro-posal. The anti-REACH campaign was supported by the US chemical industry and theBush administration, with Colin Powell himself pressuring key EU governments. Underthe new leadership of BASF, CEFIC intensified its anti-REACH campaigning in 2002,using the magic word: ‘competitiveness’. REACH, industry argues, would endangerthe EU’s ‘Lisbon Agenda’ goal of becoming the world’s most competitive economy by2010. Industry-funded consultants’ studies presented wildly exaggerated estimates ofthe likely costs for industry and job losses resulting from REACH. The UK, Germanand French government soon joined the chorus of REACH-bashers. In Brussels, thechemical industry lobby massively outnumbers the NGOs defending tighter health andenvironmental rules.

As a result of this overwhelming pressure, the revised REACH proposal that was pre-sented by the Commission on 29th October 2003 was a major step backwards. In thenew proposal, testing and licensing requirements were dramatically weakened, whilemany loopholes for toxic chemicals were left in place. Unless a major civil societyoffensive gets off the ground, the prospects for improved EU chemicals regulationseem rather bleak. The European Parliament is expected to vote on the REACH pro-posal in the second half of 2005.

Industry 1 – People & Planet 0

Avenue de Cortenbergh 118Enter the lobby of this building andhave a look at the nameplate: Avenuede Cortenbergh 118 is a fascinatingexample of a corporate lobbyingecosystem in Brussels. The buildinghouses the US Chamber of Com-merce, the lobbying offices of foodgiant Unilever, the Brussels represen-tatives of Addleshaw Goddard andother law firms specialised in EU law,as well a two major public relationsfirms: Hill & Knowlton and Burson-Marsteller.

Burson-Marsteller is one of the mostcontroversial global PR firms. Recentclients to have received help fromBurson-Marsteller in return for heftyfees include Ahmad Chalabi's IraqiNational Congress (INC) and theSaudi royal family (hoping to steerclear of blame post-September 11).

David Earnshaw, one of the managingdirectors of the Burson Marsteller’sBrussels office, came straight from ajob at Oxfam’s Brussels team. Beforehis short stint at Oxfam, Earnshawwas a key figure in the corporatelobby campaign for the EU’s Patentson Life directive. Around that time,in 1998, Burson-Marsteller got itsfingers burned when the biotechindustry hired it to develop a strategyfor getting Europeans to accept andeat genetically modified food. Thestrategy document was leaked to themedia and caused a major scandal.

In its offices on the third and fourthfloor of the building, Burson-Marsteller employs circa 45 people.Some of them run ‘front groups’, cre-ated on behalf of corporate clients.An example is the Bromine Scienceand Environmental Forum (BSEF),which is paid by a handful of US,Israeli and Japanese chemical compa-

nies. Covering up for these wealthycustomers, Burson-Marsteller usesthe name BSEF to campaign againstbans or restrictions on productionand sales of toxic bromines.

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Nameplates in the lobby of Avenue deCortenbergh 118

Avenue de Cortenbergh 168The 8-floor building on the corner ofRue Fulton is the headquarters ofUNICE, the European employers’federation. With around 50 staffworking in their offices, UNICE isone of the biggest industry associa-tions in Brussels. UNICE is a deeplyconservative but very effective lobby-ing machine, producing detailedposition papers and lobbying deci-sion-makers on virtually every issueof interest to the corporate world.The power of UNICE is based notonly on its work in Brussels, but alsoon the fact that hundreds of lobbyistsfrom national employers’ federationsrepeat the same messages to the gov-ernments in the 25 capitals. An

example of UNICE’s increasinglyaggressive but media-savvy approachis their recent call for a moratoriumon new social initiatives until the EUhas achieved its goal of becoming theworld’s competitiveness leader.

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Despite its name, the Bromine Science and Environmental Forum (BSEF) is not a sci-entific body, nor an environmental NGO. It is a corporate front group created by PRfirm Burson-Marsteller on behalf of the world’s four largest bromine producers whofeared a ban on brominated flame retardants.

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are chemical substances used in products rang-ing from electronics, car seats, computer casings, building materials and cables to tex-tiles and furniture. Due to their flame retardant properties their use has boomed inrecent decades. Unfortunately most of the brominated flame retardants pose seriousrisks to human health and the environment, and they are often compared to DDT andPCBs, toxic chemicals that were banned in most parts of the world in the 1970s. In2003 three types of bromines were banned in the EU, but the most common type(deca-BDEs) was approved through a controversial decision of the official EU riskassessment body.

Through the BSEF, the bromine industry sponsors scientific studies that conclude thatbromines are in fact beneficial for the environment (as they reduce fires and thereforepollution). In this way the bromine industry tries to subtly influence the political debatein Europe on the environmental and health risks of bromine flame retardants. TheBSEF primarily targets EU experts that conduct the EU risk assessments, but it alsohas several lobbyists accredited at the European Parliament, including Burson-Marsteller heavyweight Lawrie McLaren.

BSEF has repeatedly tried to silence critics exposing the potential risks of toxicbromine products. In May 2003 several newspapers and tv stations received a letterin which the law firm Harbottle & Lewis, writing on behalf of the BSEF, urged them notto cover the warnings against BFRs issued by WWF and other environmental groups.The letter ended with a blunt notification: “We should state for the record that ourclients will be monitoring future press and media coverage on the issue of BFRs, andwill not hesitate to pursue all remedies available to them should there be any incorrector inaccurate statements in relation to BFRs that adversely affect our clients’ busi-nesses.”

Front Group for the Bromine Industry

Also in the UNICE building onAvenue de Cortenbergh 168 are theoffices of the European ServicesForum (ESF). The ESF is a lobbycoalition of large European corpora-tions working to influence the nego-tiations on services liberalisation inthe World Trade Organisation(WTO), known to insiders as GATS.The ESF was established in 1999 atthe initiative of the EuropeanCommission, which wanted an EU-level corporate lobby group thatcould assist the EU in the GATSnegotiations.The group helped draft the EU’sdemands for services liberalisation inthe rest of the world, which includesthe liberalisation and privatisation ofessential public services like waterand education. The Services Forumcontinues to enjoy intimate relationswith EU trade negotiators, who visitthe group’s offices to discuss develop-ments in the WTO negotiations, fol-lowed by cocktail parties.

Avenue de Cortenbergh 107When UNICE chose Avenue deCortenbergh 168 as its new head-quarters a few years ago, it was notonly because of its spaciousness andstate-of-the-art corporate facilities.Very conveniently, the UNICE officesare located just across the street fromthe European Commission’sDirectorate-General for the InternalMarket, known as a fierce pro-busi-ness bastion. Until the autumn of2004, this Commission departmentwas run by Commissioner FritsBolkestein, a hardliner who wouldnot rest until the Internal Market was‘completed’. In Bolkestein’s interpre-tation, completion will occur onlywhen everything has been liberalised,deregulated and privatised. His pro-posal for liberalisation of the internalmarket for services is known as the‘Bolkestein Directive’ amongst oppo-nents.

Bolkestein’s successor, CharlieMcCreevy, a former Irish minister ofFinance, is unlikely to depart muchfrom Bolkestein’s heritage.

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Through the lobbying efforts of UNICE and the European Roundtable of Industrialists,international competitiveness has become the EU’s primary policy goal. According tothe ‘Lisbon Agenda’, (launched in March 2000) the EU should become the world’smost competitive economic bloc by 2010. Capitalising on the increasing EU obsessionwith competitiveness, UNICE and the European Roundtable have already won that allexisting and new EU policies is now to be tested on possible negative impacts onbusiness in so-called ‘business impact assessments’. The EU’s Kyoto commitmentsfor fighting climate change are first in line to be re-assessed, which may further weak-en efforts to combat climate change. Upon assuming office in late 2004, José ManuelBarroso announced that as president of the European Commission he will giveabsolute priority to the Lisbon competitiveness goals.

Competitiveness Craze

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The idea of launching free trade talks with the US, especially at a time when an irre-sponsible president like George Bush occupies the White House, may seem eccen-tric, if not absurd. In April 2004, however, the European Parliament approved a reso-lution embracing the Transatlantic Policy Network’s proposal for launching negotia-tions with exactly this goal. The resolution was pre-cooked by Christian-DemocratParliamentarian Elmar Brok, who simply cut-and-pasted sentences from aTransatlantic Policy Network document into the draft Parliament resolution. Brok is aleading member of the network and on the payroll of Bertelsmann AG, one of the net-work’s corporate members. A dozen or more other parliamentarians involved in thedebates on this resolution, including Social Democrat MEP Erika Mann, also belongedto the network, but never disclosed their double roles.

While the Transatlantic Policy Network concentrates on the European Parliament andthe US Congress, its sister organisation the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD)banks on its cosy relations with the European Commission and the US government.At the EU-US summit, in June 2004, a heavyweight TABD delegation was invited topresent its demands, such as a weakening of the EU’s chemical safety review(REACH), to the assembled EU and US leaders. Consumer groups wanting to defendREACH were refused a chance to address the summit.

Since 2003 the Business Dialogue has been co-chaired by Neville Isdell (CocaCola)and Niall Fitzgerald (Reuters). In Europe, Unilever facilitates the coordination of theTABD.

Transatlantic Tricksters

Strategically located between thebuildings of the European Counciland the European Commissionaround Rond-Point Schuman and theEuropean Parliament premises on theother side of the Léopold Parc, theonce-elegant Rue Froissart is a popu-lar location for lobby groups. On thefirst and second floors of RueFroissart 115 are the offices of twolittle-known but influential groups:the Transatlantic Policy Network(TPN) and the TransAtlanticBusiness Dialogue (TABD). Both arehybrid organisations where the divid-ing line between business and poli-tics is blurry at best. Through the

Transatlantic Policy Network, parlia-mentarians and business leaderslobby together for the creation of anEU-US free trade zone by 2015. TheTrans-Atlantic Business Dialogue,currently 35 major EU and US corpo-rations, has very strong support fromthe European Commission and theUS government for its campaign toremove obstacles to trade and invest-ment flows. The Business Dialoguedefines ‘obstacles’ very broadly,including any proposal for new envi-ronment and consumer protectionsthat is unpopular among big busi-ness.

Standing on the corner of RueFroissart and Rue de la Verveine, youhave an excellent view of the futuris-tic megaspaceship housing theEuropean Parliament on the otherside of the valley and of the LéopoldParc. The rare bit of fenced wildnature between Rue de la Verveineand Rue Belliard is the site for afuture new luxury hotel. Note therow of delapidating houses on theother side of Rue Belliard – most like-ly as a result of speculation. Suchempty facades and derelict buildingsites used to be very commonthroughout the EU quarter, when theneighbourhood was under perma-

nent reconstruction. Its transforma-tion from residential area to officequarter is now almost complete.Further down the hill along Rue de laVerveine, you can see the construc-tion works along the Chausséed’Etterbeek. This will become thenew venue for EU summits. Summitsof heads of state and governmentused to take place in the EU memberstate holding the EU presidency, butdue to the rising costs (and increas-ingly frequent and massive demon-strations by global justice activists),this tradition has been terminated. Asof 2004, all major EU summits nowtake place in Brussels.

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The transformation of the EUquarter from residential neigh-bourhood to office area is now

almost complete

After having served as location forthe Brussels Zoo, the Léopold Parcwas converted into the campus of theUniversité Libre Bruxelles at the turnof the 20th century. The stylishBibliothèque Solvay, on the top of thehill, hosts the offices of three influen-tial think tanks: Friends of Europe,Forum Europe and the New DefenceAgenda. These think tanks use theart deco library as a prestigious venuefor debates and meetings. All threeorganisations are directed by formerjournalist and veteran Brussels lobby-ist Giles Merritt.

Forum Europe, misleadingly claimsto be “a neutral platform for debate.”But like the other organisations in theBibliothèque Solvay, Forum Europe isheavily depended on the financialcontributions of large corporations.Corporate leaders like Baron DanielJanssen (Tractebel) and viscountEtienne Davignon (Suez-Tractebel)occupy advisory positions both at

Forum Europe and Friends ofEurope.

The New Defence Agenda (NDA),established in 2003 by Merritt,receives generous contributions frommajor arms producers like Lockheed-Martin and BAE Systems, in returnfor promoting higher European mili-tary spending.

Of the three other big buildings inthe park, one is used by the EuropeanCommission (the former EastmanInstitute for dental corrections) andthe second is a school, while thesmall castle on the western cornerfacing the European Parliament wasrecently bought by the Bavarianregional government. The Bavarianswill use this strategically locatedbuilding as their lobbying headquar-ters in Brussels. They have comeunder heavy criticism by local citi-zens for fencing in and de facto pri-vatising a large part of the park.

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In return for donations from arms producers, the New Defence Agenda (NDA) hostsdebates, publishes reports and offers other public relations services. The price for apublic debate or a report presenting a message chosen by the client is between15,000 and 30,000 euros. For the arms companies, the NDA is a very convenientcover so that their own self-serving agendas are not directly exposed. Like almost allindustry sectors, the arms producers have discovered the EU’s obsession with inter-national competitiveness, which they find a useful hook for demanding higher defencespending. The EU’s current ‘low’ defence spending (on average 3% of GDP comparedto around 6% in the US) is presented as an obstacle to European competitiveness.NDA has close relations to both the NATO secretariat in Brussels and the EuropeanCommission’s DG Research which is eager to boost EU investment in militaryresearch. Among several other arms industry lobby groups in Brussels are theEuropean Association of Aerospace Industries (AECMA) and the EuropeanDefence Industries Group (EDIG).

Brussels’ Military-Industrial Complex

The small and inconspicuous tree onthe small roundabout next to the tow-ering glass facades of the EuropeanParliament at Rue Wiertz has a storyto go with it. As you can read on thememorial stones, the tree was plantedin 2001 by the Society of EuropeanAffairs Professionals (SEAP), thegroup representing the interests ofprofessional lobbyists in Brussels. Byplanting this tree on such a prominentplace, SEAP probably wanted to cele-brate the key role of lobbying in theEU decision-making. But the treecould also be seen as an attempt by thelobbyists to improve the bad reputa-tion of their profession.

The huge Léopold complex housingthe European Parliament totals over700,000 square metres. But with theEU enlargement from 15 to 25 mem-ber states, the building is not bigenough anymore, and a new wing is

being built at the side of LuxembourgSquare.

Pass the entrances of the Parliamentbuildings (not the Euro statue on yourleft) and follow the Rue Wiertz uphill.The anonymous office building at nr.50, right next to the EuropeanParliament, houses a few dozen inter-national media organisations, as wellas Weber Shandwick – with over 55staff one of the biggest PR firms inBrussels. Weber Shandwick has fourlobbyists accredited at the EuropeanParliament next door.

One of Weber Shandwick’s neighboursin the building is the InternationalCouncil for Capital Formation, asubsidiary of a US think tank fightingto avoid environmental legislationwhich it considers an unnecessarycost for business.

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In March 2004, the Society of European Affairs Professionals (SEAP) sent a letter tothe president of the European Parliament, complaining that there were not enoughseats and headphones for the lobbyists.

The incident shows the steady increase of the number of lobbyists in Brussels. Of theestimated 15,000-20,000 lobbyists in Brussels, some 5,000 lobbyists are accredited atthe European Parliament. and have a full-time access pass to the Parliament buildings.Among these lobbyists – listed by name and organisation in the Parliament’s online reg-ister – industry outnumbers NGOs by a factor of 6-1.

Lobbying has become an integral part of policy-making in the European Parliament, tothe extent that substantial parts of the resolutions and amendments are drafted byindustry lobbyists.

Speaking at a training course for lobbyists, Liberal-Democrat MEP Chris Daviesexplained: “I need lobbyists, I depend on lobbyists.” He emphasized that as an MEP hecan only cope with the work pressure and complexity of issues on the EuropeanParliament agenda, by using input from lobbyists, including specific industry amend-ments to proposed legislation.

Parliament Teeming with Lobbyists

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Place du LuxembourgThis newly renovated square is afavourite lunch and cocktail venuefor eurocrats and lobbyists alike.Brussels has the highest number ofrestaurants per head in Europe,which has everything to do with thelunch-meeting culture of the EUinstitutions and tax-payer-fundedexpense accounts.

What used to be the entrance to theLéopold station will become the newmain entrance of the EuropeanParliament. This will make Place duLuxembourg into one of the centralmeeting places in the European quar-ter.

Rue du LuxembourgThis street is undergoing a majortransformation as its popularity asoffice space for lobby groups is peak-ing. It may indeed soon surpassAvenue de Cortenbergh as the highstreet of corporate lobbying inBrussels. Already today, the streethosts dozens of PR firms and corpo-rate offices, such as Grayling (Rue du

Luxembourg 14A) which specialisesin lobbying advice for trade associa-tions. The anonymous-looking build-ing at Rue du Luxembourg 23 hosts adozen firms and organisations,including the European SeedsAssociation and the Centre for theNew Europe.

The European Seeds Association isone of the main pro-biotech lobbygroups operating in Brussels, togeth-er with EuropaBio and large biotechcorporations like Monsanto, Bayer,Syngenta and Pioneer. A major ESApriority is to weaken the EU SeedsDirective which establishes labellingrequirements and limits for genetical-ly modified seeds.

The Centre for the New Europe(CNE) is one of the new generationof hard-line right-wing think tanksthat have set up shop in Brussels. TheCentre’s ideology and style resemblesthat of US think tanks like theHeritage Foundation and theCompetitive Enterprise Institute.

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Place du Luxembourgundergoing majortransformation

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The two heavyweights in the biotech lobby in Brussels are the umbrella groupsEuropaBio (representing the entire biotech sector) and the European SeedAssociation (ESA). The four largest biotech corporations - Monsanto, Syngenta,Pioneer (DuPont) and Bayer - are members of both groups, but also have their ownlobbying offices in Brussels.

In 1998, the biotech industry targeted the European Parliament with one of the mostexpensive and manipulative lobbying campaigns so far. As a result, the EP approvedthe controversial Life Patent Directive, allowing companies to patent genes, cells, ani-mals, plants varieties and parts of the human body.

But after this disturbing victory the consumer backlash against genetically modified(GM) crops has brought far harder times for biotech lobbyists. While the EuropeanCommission remained supportiveof biotechnology, many memberstate governments were much morereserved. As a result the authorisa-tion of any new biotech products inthe EU was blocked for severalyears. The European Commissiontries to break this deadlock bydeveloping key pieces of legislation.This situation has led to a fiercelobby battle between the biotechindustry and environmental andconsumers organisations which stillrages on today.

Biotech lobby battle

The small streets between RueBelliard and Rue de la Loi are alsofavourite locations for the lobbyingsector. Rue Guimard 15 is the addressof law firm Herbert Smith, whoseBrussels offices are specialised inWorld Trade Organisation (WTO)law. The firm’s most famous consult-ant is Lord Brittan of Spennithorne,also known as Leon Brittan, the for-mer European Trade Commissioner.Brittan, working from his Londonoffices, is advising clients on exactlythe same issues which he was respon-sible for as an EU Commissioner.Less than a year after leaving the

European Commission, Brittan hadnot only joined Herbert Smith, butalso become Vice-Chairman of theinvestment bank UBS Warburg andAdvisory Director at Unilever. Soonafter, Brittan also became theChairman of the High-Level LOTISGroup of International FinancialServices London (IFSL), a lobbygroup representing the UK financialindustry. Brittan is only one of manyexamples of EU Commissioners andother Commission officials passingthrough the revolving door to indus-try.

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In the US, right-wing think tanks like the American Enterprise Institute have fordecades played a major role in shaping the public debate and government policies inthe interests of their corporate sponsors. In Brussels, outfits like TechCentralStationand the Centre for the New Europe (CNE) could once be disregarded as loonyfringe, but there are now signs that their hard-line messages are becoming acceptedin the mainstream of the EU political debate.

The ‘fellows’ of the Centre for the New Europe are dogmatic free-marketeers whowould like to privatise just about anything, including healthcare. One of the CNE’s reg-ular activities is the parliamentary assistants forum (‘free pizza and beer’), which fea-tures attacks on EU environmental policies based on ‘junk science’. CNE, with around15 paid staff and seemingly no lack of money, is increasingly often quoted in influen-tial media like the European Voice. When Italy’s defence minister Antonio Martinoreceived CNE’s Adam Smith award for 2004, he compared CNE to the think-tankswhich provided intellectual ammunition for Margaret Thatcher’s right-wing revolution inthe UK in the 1980’s.

The no less extreme TechCentralStation is also working its way into the mainstream,for instance by co-organising conferences with the Christian-Democrat parliamentarygroup (PPE) in the European Parliament. TechCentralStation.be is the Brussels-basedsubsidiary of a US website, sponsored by corporations like Exxon, McDonalds andMicrosoft. It features columns written by US and European hard-line rightwingers,denouncing any piece of progressive legislation under discussion.

Rightwing Revolution in Brussels?

While most lobbyists prefer proximi-ty to the EU institutions, corporatelobby offices in Brussels are by nomeans limited to the four square kilo-metres of the EU quarter. Some of themost powerful corporate groupingshave chosen offices elsewhere inBrussels. The EU Committee of theAmerican Chamber of Commerce(AmCham), for instance, is locatedjust on the border of the EU quarter(Avenue des Arts 50). AmCham,which lobbies the EU institutions onbehalf of large US corporations, oper-ates similarly to the employers’ feder-ation UNICE, spitting out positionstatements on virtually any issue thatmay affect the corporate bottom-line.The AmCham offices, by the way, aresituated close to the building of theUnited States Mission to the EU(Rue Zinner 13), itself arguably oneof the most powerful lobbies inBrussels.

A very prominent player that is notheadquartered in the EU quarter isthe European Roundtable ofIndustrialists (ERT). The location of

the Roundtable’s offices in a poshbuilding on the eastern outskirts ofBrussels (Place des Carabiniers 18a)reflects the fact that this club of 45large corporations rarely engages inday-to-day lobbying towards theEuropean Commission or theParliament on detailed policy issues.In the task division among corporatelobby groups, the Roundtable playsthe forward-looking, agenda-settingrole. Using its high-level access toboth the European Commission andEU governments, the ERT was instru-mental in paving the way for majorundertakings like the Internal Marketand the single currency, shaped to fitthe interests of corporate giants likeSuez, Nestlé, Thyssen-Krupp, Solvayand Renault.

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The head-quarters of theEuropeanRoundtable ofIndustrialists(ERT)

The many cases of corporate powerabuse described throughout thisguidebook show that the EU is indanger of becoming a true lobbycra-cy. Fortunately, business does notalways win, but corporate controlover EU policy is increasing andurgent action is needed to stop theEU’s political processes from deterio-rating further. Turning the tide willrequire concerted pro-democracycampaigning, as well as a rejection ofthe neoliberal market fundamental-ism which is such an essential part ofthe problem. Indeed, nothing will domore to undermine corporate powerthan citizens across Europe refusingto sacrifice social and environmentalprogress in the pursuit of ‘interna-tional competitiveness’.

Lobbying Transparency andEthicsSince late 2004, Corporate EuropeObservatory, together with a broadcoalition of civil society groups fromall over Europe, is campaigning foreffective EU disclosure and ethicrules for lobbyists. with a focus ontransparency. At the very minimum,corporations, PR firms and lobbygroups (with a lobbying budget overa to-be-defined minimum amount)should be obliged to submit regularreports providing details on content,clients and budget of their lobbyingactivities. These reports should befully accessible to the public in anonline searchable database.

EU lobbying disclosure rules wouldnot solve all problems caused byexcessive corporate power. But aEuropean lobbying register would bean effective tool for parliamentariansto know who is lobbying them (andtheir colleagues!), help journalists

scrutinise corporate lobbying cam-paigns and provide civil society witha potent tool for counter-campaign-ing.

Guided Tours of the EUquarterCEO invites you to join one of ourguided tours. See our website forupcoming tour dates. We are alsoopen to host tours for specific inter-ested groups (within our capacity).Contact us if you would like to dis-cuss this possibility. And if you can’tmake it to Brussels, you can go towww.eulobbytours.org and do ouronline ‘cyber-tour’ of the EU quarter.

Further Reading & ResearchOn our website you can o find back-ground reading on all of the issues wehave mentioned in this guidebook.Far more monitoring and research isneeded to expose corporate manipu-lations of the political process. Wewould like to encourage all readers toget involved in this effort.

Corporate Europe ObservatoryDe Wittenstraat 251052 AK Amsterdamtel: +31-020-6127023fax: +31-(0)20-6861208e-mail: ceo@corporateeurope.orgwebsite: www.corporateeurope.org

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News, analysis and updates: www.corporateeurope.org

From the futuristic and oversizedbuildings of the European Unioninstitutions to the innumerable lobbyoffices of corporations, PR firms,think-tanks and industry groups –this guide will help you to discoverthe EU quarter of Brussels, Europe’scorporate lobbying capital.

• map of the EU quarter• concise background information• in-depth coverage of increasing

influence of lobbyists in Brussels• info on some of the major corpo-

rate lobbying campaigns of thepast years

• suggestions for action to curb cor-porate power

One of the most useful guides to themurky world of international corpo-rate politics ever published

- George Monbiot

The Corporate Europe Observatoryteam successfully breaks the silkenveil protecting the lobbies of transna-tional corporations.

- Susan George

Also available from CorporateEurope Observatory:

3rd editionJuly 2005