Commissioners Verheugen and Spidla
For hearing only the ‘corporate’ in corporate social responsibility
From 2002 till 2004 the European Commission organised a Multi Stakeholder Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), involving all relevant stakeholders: business, trade unions, civil society groups and government officials. The Forum was meant to provide input for a new policy paper on CSR from the Commission.
In March 2006, the Commission finally launched its new Communication on CSR. However, this document had been prepared with only business’ input ignoring over a years worth of meetings as part of the Multi Stakeholder Forum. Several meetings did subsequently take place between the Commission and representatives of the business sector. NGOs and trade unions have been kept completely out of this process and all their main recommendations, made during the Multi Stakeholder Forum, were ignored.
Due to the large influence and privileged access of UNICE (the main European employers organization) and other corporate groups, the Commission’s CSR policy is now limited to an extremely weak, voluntary alliance between the EU and companies, without any safeguards for implementation, verification, reporting, etc. The scope of the CSR policy shifted from limiting the negative impact of business on people and the environment to making CSR an instrument to improve the competitiveness of European companies at the exclusion of people and the environment.
The biased nature of the paper is illuminated by a letter that UNICE sent to its members about the Communication. It states that ‘a few passages must be interpreted as verbal concessions to other stakeholders, which will however have no real impact’. The Communication was actually launched by Commissioners Verheugen and Špidla jointly with CSR Europe (the ‘leading business agency for CSR’) and companies like Volkswagen. Trade unions and NGOs were not invited.
Vote for Verheugen and Špidla for hearing only the ‘corporate’ in corporate social responsibility
For further information:
Brussels to side with business on CSR, Financial Times, 13 March 2006
Commissioner Verheugen hijacks EU process on CSR; Corporate Social Responsibility plan EU totally lacks substance, European Coalition for Corporate Justice, press release, 13 March 2006
Letter Re: CSR – latest developments, UNICE, 13 March 2006
Implementing the Partnership for Growth and Jobs; making Europe a Pole of Excellence on Corporate Social Responsibility, Communication from the European Commission , Brussels, 22 March 2006, COM(2006) 136 final
olivier wrote on 02-11-2005:
ils pourraient au moins faire semblant... Quelle grossièreté dans l'exercice du pouvoir. Bande de boeufs!
anonymous wrote on 01-11-2005:
outrageous...that's democracy nowadays...the strongest rules....
Guess wrote on 01-11-2005:
Hey, M.Goebbels, did you ask the people that elected you to choose the candidates? No, of course. But you don't mind calling yourself a member of a demoratic regime (at election times). And for this lobbying thing, transparency comes along power : the more you have, the more responsible you are towards people that you rule. It's a simple rule, it's the rule of power... "You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough" (William Blake, proverb of Hell), it's as true for power as it is true for everything, Caesars madness is no myth!
anonymous wrote on 01-11-2005:
Are you also saying all lawyers should disclose their information about clients? where does this stop? Lobbying has a genuine role to play and looking at the alleged negative impact only is very
reductive.
Erik Wesselius, Corporate Europe Observatory wrote on 01-11-2005:
See for instance:
http://www.corporateeurope.org/aboutceo.html
http://www.foeeurope.org/about/english.htm
http://www.lobbycontrol.de/blog/index.php/about-us-english/
Erik Wesselius, Corporate Europe Observatory wrote on 01-11-2005:
The organisers of the Worst EU Lobby Award 2006 advocate rules to make transparency (including on sources of income) obligatory for all EU lobbyists. We have no hesitations to disclose this information ourselves.
Goebbels Robert, MEP wrote on 01-11-2005:
Lobbyists are everywhere.Corporate Europe Observatory,Friends of the Earth,LobbyControl are lobbyists too. Where's your transparency,who is founding you,how democratic is this socalled election if one can only vote for your proposals?
Al wrote on 01-11-2005:
The Unice letter is revealing and the European Commission's efforts in this area have been pathetic. It could easily have promoted a disclosure regulation. An opportunity lost.
Al pacino wrote on 01-11-2005:
Mircea from Romania talking about corruption that's precious...How much do you want for changing your position?
Mircea from Romania wrote on 01-11-2005:
Lobbying is legalized corruption since it gives power to the money machines (corporations) and no voice to the people. Oversized companies should have the same voice as the smaller ones.
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