The European Commission’s high-level groups are “skewed” in favour of business interests and fail to guarantee equitable consultation of all stakeholders, allege Friends of the Earth in a new report to be published tomorrow (12 February). The NGO is calling for a moratorium on the creation of new such groups until more “transparent mechanisms” have been established.
“Privileged access for business seems to have become institutionalised in many expert groups, with industry representatives all too often occupying most of the seats granted to non-governmental players,” concludes the report, compiled by Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE) and seen by EURACTIV.
The recommendations and progress reports produced by the Commission’s high-level groups (HLGs) “are geared primarily towards improving the competitiveness of European industry at the expense of environmental objectives,” it claims.
FoEE thus conclude that HLGs “cannot be the right place to formulate important and controversial policies,” calling on the EU executive to “dissolve groups that are controlled by industry interests or take steps to ensure a more balanced representation”.
Moreover, the report calls on the Commission to disclose membership information (names and organisations) and documents (reports and minutes) in a “comprehensive register”.
The NGO also wants the EU executive to refrain from setting up new advisory groups “until transparent mechanisms for their creation have been established, including clear and solid criteria that guarantee equitable consultation of all stakeholders”.
The report specifically looks at seven HLGs established by the EU executive’s enterprise and industry directorate, covering a range of issues from energy, the environment and competitiveness to cars, textiles and clothing, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, “raising serious questions about their democratic legitimacy”.
‘Biased’ membership…
“The composition of the majority of groups examined was found to be skewed to the benefit of industry,” states the report.
In two groups (‘textiles and clothing’ and ‘administrative burdens’), “more than half of all members represented business interests, effectively giving them corporate control,” it claims, while “more than half of the non-governmental members” on the other five came from business.
…and ‘biased’ policy recommendations
HLG reports on cars and textiles and clothing “clearly reflect an industry agenda,” the report alleges, because their recommendations “follow a market-oriented approach, watering down or disregarding standards in the name of competitiveness”.
Meanwhile, “the recommendations made by the HLG on competitiveness, energy and the environment […] reflect the industry bias within the group with a clear emphasis on techno-solutions,” it states.
Moreover, if given a voice, the contribution of non-industry representatives “appears to have an adverse impact on the work of the group, with the suggestion that industry […] loses interest and the group loses its raison d’être“.
Industry expertise ‘crucial’
Commission spokesman Mark Gray told EURACTIV that such reports tend “to pick out one or two loaded examples from industry” but neglect to present the wider picture.
He declined to comment on the specifics of the report until it is published, but stressed of putting the role of high-level groups “in the right context”. “It is the Commission that prepares and drafts legislation. High-level expert groups act as one of the useful tools for consultation and expertise,” Gray said.
“It is crucial that the Commission uses the expertise of industry when discussing the competitiveness of important European industrial sectors,” the spokesman for the EU executive added. “High-level groups have a specific remit which is often limited in scope and time.”