The lobbies trap the French government. Word of Le Monde
An NGO and the Observatoire des multinationales have published a report on the links between the French government and large companies. What the French newspaper Le Monde writes
A French presidency "under the influence" of the lobbies? As France prepares to chair the Council of the European Union (EU) for six months starting January 1, 2022, the NGO Corporate Europe Observatory (Ceo) and the Observatoire des multinationales, a left-wing investigative website considers it a counter-power, they published an incisive report on the links between the French government and large companies on Monday 20 December. So writes Le Monde .
In this 58-page document, an expanded version of a first report published in October, these two public-private interaction monitoring organizations warn of "dangerous links." They fear the intrusion of private interests into public decision-making in Brussels, at a time when "several pieces of legislation crucial for the future of Europe" need to be negotiated in 2022, on climate emergency, health or recovery funds, with important public funding at stake.
"The French government's priorities for the EU are distorted," say the report's authors. Behind the concept of "strategic autonomy" touted by the executive, they underline, there is hidden support for the "champions" of industry and services. If listening to the lobbies is nothing new, they admit, the French presidency's interference with the presidential election campaign could, in their opinion, be an aggravating circumstance: "What will France defend in the Council of the EU?" Observatoire des multinationales, “the French and European public interest? The private interests of large French companies and the business world in general? Or the only political interest of Emmanuel Macron? ”. Big business and their lobbies shouldn't capture European politics or undermine democratic debate, these associations argue.
"Pantouflage" and "retropantouflage"
To base their analysis, the two organizations investigated how large groups were "closely associated" with the formation of the French presidency, in a context of opacity: "The little information we have on the meetings between decision-makers and representatives of interests (…) suggest a very strong prejudice in favor of large companies ”, they underline. Of the 38 lobbying meetings revealed by the French representative in Brussels and his deputy, 28 were with companies or industrial lobbies, compared with only two with civil society.
Situations of "pantouflage" or "retropantouflage" in key positions in Brussels or France – in other words, going back and forth between the public and private sectors – would fuel a confusion of interests. The report cites, for example, an energy consultant in Brussels who worked for Total Energies, former energy consultants who became lobbyists for Engie and Arianespace, and former financial consultants in Brussels who were recruited from the banking sector.
While it is too early to judge on the basis of facts, the report's authors already deplore the fact that France has not completely abandoned the controversial practice of using private sponsors to finance its future presidency, as Germany did.
Although private sponsorship has been reduced from what other countries have previously achieved, manufacturers Renault and Stellantis have been chosen to provide a fleet of electric and hybrid vehicles to transport ministers and their delegations for free for six months without any bans. of race. While the report sees this as a solid sign and an opportunity for these brands to "improve their image and influence with decision makers," the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, explained that the goal was that of promoting a zero-emission presidency, "with an environmental approach".
"What is needed is political will"
In concrete terms, to encourage a debate as open as possible and curb the "lobbying frenzy" on major issues of public interest (energy, health, digitalisation, etc.), and to make Europe more democratic, the CEO and Observatoire des multinationales they are engaging in formulating a series of proposals for the executive.
These include: guaranteeing the transparency of all meetings with the lobbies, both in Brussels and in the ministries of Paris; avoid giving privileged access to large companies; refuse meetings with supporters of fossil fuels, which are incompatible with the general interest and the fight against the climate crisis; avoid situations of conflict of interest; and to allow for democratic ex post control by MEPs over discussions and votes at Community level.
But, the report concludes, "more than the rules, what is needed is the political will to truly involve European citizens in the Council and in its political decisions". So far, France has not shown that will. We hope that your EU presidency will change this trend ”, the authors write.
(Extract from the foreign press review by eprcomunicazione )
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/le-lobby-ingabbiano-il-governo-francese-parola-di-le-monde/ on Sat, 25 Dec 2021 06:51:13 +0000.