Thread by @V_Forconi

Activists urge #tobacco-style curbs on oil and gas #lobbying in EU

politico.eu/article/tobacc…

A thread 👇

Some NGOs, emboldened by a @WHO approach towards meetings with #tobacco lobbyists (@FCTCofficial art. 5.3), now want the #EU to shut the door to legitimate #lobbying by coal, #oil and gas lobbyists, too. What’s next? Every corporate lobbyist? #SlipperySlope?

Several reasons why this nonsensical: first, very few #NGOs or public officials have the deep expertise in energy markets that energy companies do. Excluding them from the process would sideline relevant legal #stakeholders who are affected by the proposed legislative changes.

Secondly, this idea that any #lobbying by companies that the #NGOs don’t like is evil, contradicts long-standing EU doctrine. The @Europarl_EN says so. The @EU_Commission says so. Even @TI_EU (Transparency International) says so!

The EP: “#Lobbying is a legitimate part of the democratic system, regardless of whether it is carried out by citizens, companies, or firms working on behalf of third parties, think tanks, lawyers, public affairs professionals.” bit.ly/36iu8xY

#Transparency Register: “The more open the process is, the easier it is to ensure balanced representation and avoid undue pressure and illegitimate or privileged access to information or to decision-makers.” bit.ly/2qVF4kN #lobbying

@TI_EU: “When undertaken with integrity and #transparency, #lobbying is a legitimate avenue for interest groups to be involved in the deliberative process of law making. When lobbying is non-transparent and unregulated, problems arise and measures must be taken [...]

It seems that the only ones whose motives are anti-democratic are those NGOs calling for a ban on #lobbying by everyone but themselves. #righttobeheard #transparency #fairness #betterRegulation.
What will happen to anti-corporate #NGOs when there will be no more #corporations?