Corporate Europe Observatory -- a wealth of information, here
Virtual tour of Brussels' EU lobbying entities 10-12 pages into the tour:
"On the first floor of Rue Froissart 115, for instance, are the offices of the Transatlantic Policy Network (TPN). Through the Transatlantic Policy Network [eee gads, the list of "contributing institutions": CFR?, Brookings Institute? ...], sympathetic members of the European Parliament and business leaders lobby together for the creation of an EU-US free trade zone by 2015".
Oh???
See also:
"On Rue Wiertz 50, right next to the European Parliament, over 25 companies and lobby groups have found ideally located office space, including Weber Shandwick - with over 55 staff one of the biggest PR/PA firms in Brussels and very active in lobbying the EP. One of Weber Shandwick's neighbours in the building is the International Council for Capital Formation, a subsidiary of a US think-tank fighting environmental legislation, particularly climate change related measures, which it considers an unnecessary cost for business".
: ((
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On another hand: Alter-EU [Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation] -- doesn't look as though they're having much success.
My, but no wonder mega-businesses are advancing their agendas under the veil of secrecy! If this were common knowledge, my bet is that EU citizens would be united in making a lot of commotion.
Meanwhile, they've got us over a barrel. Addressing these issues would require that each of us become a near-full-time activist ...
Or would it.
.
Over in the US, Democratic Congresspeople and Governors post diaries on Daily Kos. Is it hubris to contact MEPs encouraging them to post on ET? What do we have to offer? It has been said repeatedly that we can "provide cover" to European politicians who wish to challenge the neoliberal consensus. guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper
Point to dKos, say 'This is what we're going to do', and let them draw their own conclusions.
It does, indeed. I hesitated as to where the post ought to go. Put it here thinking that morning ETers might see it more readily.
I'll go through your links, carefully. I think this is a grave, if not the most pressing, issue about which popular awareness needs to be raised. Researching the topic this morning, I was hit full force by the level of my own ignorance. Really, I would not have imagined that the lobbying machinery was already so firmly entrenched and in high gear.
Contacting "sympathetic MEPs" would be a logical starting point [although I can't help but wonder why these people haven't already been crying scandal!; perhaps they have been / are but are not being heard].
I think it would also be instrumental to try to get the word out transversely, to citizens [friends, relatives, etc], at the same time, in a grass roots, ground up, word-of-mouth type campaign.
To this effect, a second "prong" to the strategy might be to publish an ET newsletter devoted to the subject, which could be delivered by European members to public places, cafés, restaurants, etc. I don't know the legal 'ins and outs' of such an operation ... Maybe someone here has such knowledge? Surely one would need to ask prior permission of the proprietor and engage him / her in the idea.
Naturally, the document could be published electronically, as well.
At any rate, if the ET community thinks such an idea would be worth pursuing, I could contribute in several ways. I am a graphic designer by profession. I would be happy to design the document [making it irresistible, of course ;-)] and oversee production & printing. And could help with delivery, too (Paris).
I feel very strongly about this matter.
A few Tuesday afternoon thoughts.
But I'm inclining to support your final statements: to truly counter-balance the rapidly widening influence of think tanks and lobbyists (unsurprisingly, there is mucho overlap between them, too) you'd need full-time activist. You begin to grudgingly understand why Oxfam became a corporation itself. It seems that the common way to become a respectable lobbyist is to become an industry.
