Invitation to ALTER-EU workshop for civil society groups (membership and non-signatories) about the corporate capture of the European Commission's experts groups.
At the end of 2010, the European Commission quietly adopted new rules governing its 1,000+ advisory bodies without any public announcement let alone consultation. These ‘expert groups’ are powerful bodies whose recommendations often determine the shape of EU legislation.
ALTER-EU has criticised the lack of ambition in the Commission’s reforms, and concludes that commercial lobbyists, be it as industry representatives or in a ‘personal capacity’, still dominate a large number of these advisory groups in critical policy areas, while other interests are poorly represented. Furthermore much about the functioning of these powerful groups – when, where and how often they meet, and what is discussed – remains unclear.
When: Wednesday, May 11 – 15h00 to 18h00
Where: Mundo-B, 26, rue d’Edimbourg – Conference Room
Who: Opening remarks:
- Yiorgos Vassalos, researcher ALTER-EU / Corporate Europe Observatory.
Speakers:
- Monique Goyens, director general BEUC;
- Joël Decaillon, deputy general secretary ETUC;
- Ronny Patz, EU-liaison officer Transparency International;
- Gérard Choplin, policy officer, European Coordination Via Campesina.
Simultaneous translation in English and French will be available.
RSVP before 6 May: koen@alter-eu.org ; + 32 4 9750 9871
