News
BackThis week, a study commissioned by AK and ÖGB was presented in Brussels. Subject of the analysis were the activities of the finance industry in Brussels. A total of 700 organisations employing 1,700 lobbyists try to influence EU legislation to accommodate the banks. In doing so, they often act in the dark. 450 organisations are recorded in the official transparency register. In comparison, NGOs, trade unions and consumers are only represented by about 150 organisations. The supremacy of the finance industry becomes even clearer in view of the enormous budgets of lobby organisations. 120 million euro per year is spent on influencing politicians and civil servants alone. In contrast, trade unions and civil society representatives have to budget with 4 million per year.
“Financial lobbies should get out of EU groups of experts”
There were large crowds at the panel discussion of AK and ÖGB in Brussels - a sign that the supremacy of the financial lobbies in the EU represents an urgent problem. Oliver Röpke, Head of the European Office of the Austrian Trade Union Federation ÖGB explained the reason behind the new study: “Obviously no lessons have been learned from the crisis; the gamblers are back to their old tricks. Meanwhile, even secured junk bonds, which were a significant trigger for the financial crisis, are busily traded again.” At the same time, when it comes to financial market regulation, the EU Commission sets the cat among the pigeons: “About 70 % of financial lobbyists are sitting in the advisory groups of the EU Commission, whilst trade unions are practically not represented at all. It is high time that these lobbyists get out of the EU Committees”, demanded Röpke.
Financial lobbies as direct advisors of the EU Commission
Olivier Hoedeman, whose organisation Corporate European Observatory prepared the study, confirmed the decisive influence the banking lobby has on the so-called groups of experts. The official advisors of the European Commission are sitting in the groups of experts. The Commission’s civil servants rely on their expertise, in particular with regard to often complicated financial market issues. Hence, they exercise enormous influence on EU legislation. In 15 of 17 groups of experts, representatives of the finance industry are more strongly represented than those of NGOs, consumer protectors and trade unions combined. The only exception is two groups, which are exclusively dedicated to consumer protection. Overall, 70 % of all advisors in groups of experts have close relations to the finance industry. Only 0.5 % of experts would represent the point of view of the trade unions. The European Commission’s Expert Group on Market Infrastructure even consists to 90 % of representatives of the finance industry, the Derivatives Expert Group to 86 %.
Heavy pressure on parliamentarians
Among the speakers was also EU parliamentarian Sven Giegold (Greens). He spoke of the penetrant efforts of financial lobbyists to convince him and other MEPs of bank-friendly positions. Over the past two years, a total of 143 different organisations, which are close to the finance industry, had tried to contact him. Emilie Turunen, also MEP (S&D), told of her experiences as a shadow rapporteur in the Economic and Financial Committee. After her appointment, she had been bombarded with invitations from 25 different financial lobbyists in the space of one week. Lobbyists often succeed to pull MEPs over to their side. The Parliament received 1,700 amendments for a Directive, which is aimed at regulating hedge funds. 900 came straight from the financial lobbies. Sven Giegold considers the imbalance of powers with regard to lobbying the key problem.
Greg Ford of “Finance Watch”, an initiative, which was set up in 2010 by several cross-party MEPs to prepare an independent expertise on financial markets, also explained that in the opinion of Banks & Co. EUR 123 million per year spent by the financial lobby in Brussels, was money well invested. After all, they had succeeded to secure billions of public funds to rescue the financial sector. The plan had worked out.
At the same time, the media too is increasingly taking up the financial imbalance of financial lobbyists on the one hand and trade unions and NGO´s on the other. "Lobbying requires transparency and control” is a demand also made by AK Director Werner Muhm. The finance industry would spend 123 million euro per year on lobbying - NGOs, trade unions and consumer representatives only a thirtieth (4 million euro). This would explain why, even though the banking regulation had materialised since the outbreak of the economic crisis, it was only "weak and full of holes", said Muhm.
Further information:
Study
There were large crowds at the panel discussion of AK and ÖGB in Brussels - a sign that the supremacy of the financial lobbies in the EU represents an urgent problem. Oliver Röpke, Head of the European Office of the Austrian Trade Union Federation ÖGB explained the reason behind the new study: “Obviously no lessons have been learned from the crisis; the gamblers are back to their old tricks. Meanwhile, even secured junk bonds, which were a significant trigger for the financial crisis, are busily traded again.” At the same time, when it comes to financial market regulation, the EU Commission sets the cat among the pigeons: “About 70 % of financial lobbyists are sitting in the advisory groups of the EU Commission, whilst trade unions are practically not represented at all. It is high time that these lobbyists get out of the EU Committees”, demanded Röpke.
Financial lobbies as direct advisors of the EU Commission
Olivier Hoedeman, whose organisation Corporate European Observatory prepared the study, confirmed the decisive influence the banking lobby has on the so-called groups of experts. The official advisors of the European Commission are sitting in the groups of experts. The Commission’s civil servants rely on their expertise, in particular with regard to often complicated financial market issues. Hence, they exercise enormous influence on EU legislation. In 15 of 17 groups of experts, representatives of the finance industry are more strongly represented than those of NGOs, consumer protectors and trade unions combined. The only exception is two groups, which are exclusively dedicated to consumer protection. Overall, 70 % of all advisors in groups of experts have close relations to the finance industry. Only 0.5 % of experts would represent the point of view of the trade unions. The European Commission’s Expert Group on Market Infrastructure even consists to 90 % of representatives of the finance industry, the Derivatives Expert Group to 86 %.
Heavy pressure on parliamentarians
Among the speakers was also EU parliamentarian Sven Giegold (Greens). He spoke of the penetrant efforts of financial lobbyists to convince him and other MEPs of bank-friendly positions. Over the past two years, a total of 143 different organisations, which are close to the finance industry, had tried to contact him. Emilie Turunen, also MEP (S&D), told of her experiences as a shadow rapporteur in the Economic and Financial Committee. After her appointment, she had been bombarded with invitations from 25 different financial lobbyists in the space of one week. Lobbyists often succeed to pull MEPs over to their side. The Parliament received 1,700 amendments for a Directive, which is aimed at regulating hedge funds. 900 came straight from the financial lobbies. Sven Giegold considers the imbalance of powers with regard to lobbying the key problem.
Greg Ford of “Finance Watch”, an initiative, which was set up in 2010 by several cross-party MEPs to prepare an independent expertise on financial markets, also explained that in the opinion of Banks & Co. EUR 123 million per year spent by the financial lobby in Brussels, was money well invested. After all, they had succeeded to secure billions of public funds to rescue the financial sector. The plan had worked out.
At the same time, the media too is increasingly taking up the financial imbalance of financial lobbyists on the one hand and trade unions and NGO´s on the other. "Lobbying requires transparency and control” is a demand also made by AK Director Werner Muhm. The finance industry would spend 123 million euro per year on lobbying - NGOs, trade unions and consumer representatives only a thirtieth (4 million euro). This would explain why, even though the banking regulation had materialised since the outbreak of the economic crisis, it was only "weak and full of holes", said Muhm.
Further information:
Study