Worst EU Lobbying Awards 2007 -

At a festive Awards ceremony in the Witloof Cellar in Botanique on 4 December 2007, German car manufacturers BMW, Daimler and Porsche were disgraced when they were named winners of the ‘Worst EU Lobbying’ Award 2007. The German Atomic Forum was also named and shamed with a special prize for ‘Worst EU Greenwash’.

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Winner of the Worst EU Lobbying Award 2007

BMW, Daimler and Porsche – nominated together in the worst EU lobbying category – gained more than 30 percent of the votes. Their joint lobbying offensive designed to water-down and delay the mandatory CO2 emission reduction targets proposed by the Commission after voluntary targets were not met was deemed to be the worst and most deceptive by voters across Europe.

“BMW, Daimler and Porsche are the worst among the car industry lobbyists,” explains Erik Wesselius from Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO). “When the Commission proposed compulsory CO2 targets, the car companies reacted immediately with a lobby campaign full of misinformation and scaremongering. Decision-makers were manipulated with grossly exaggerated threats of factory closures and job losses. The outcome of this year’s ‘Worst EU Lobbying Awards’ shows that European citizens strongly object to this type of manipulative and dishonest lobbying.”

Winner of the Worst EU Greenwash Award 2007

The special greenwash prize for the most audacious attempts to gain unjustifiable green credentials was awarded to the German Atomic Forum, which received more than a third of votes cast. It was nominated for its campaign aimed at improving the image of nuclear energy. Under the slogan “Germany’s unloved climate protectionists” it featured images of nuclear power plants placed in unpolluted and unspoilt natural environments.

“The German Atomic Forum took advantage of the public’s concern about climate change to promote nuclear energy,” says Ulrich Mueller from LobbyControl. “The one-sided ads use idyllic pictures of nature to gain public acceptance of longer lifespans for old nuclear power plants, ignoring the associated risks. The victory of the German Atomic Forum for worst greenwash shows that the public will not be conned by these attempts to gain unwarranted green credentials.”

The runners-up

The runners-up to BMW, Daimler and Porsche in the worst EU lobbying category were EPACA (European Public Affairs Consultancies Association) for its high-profile campaign against the European Commission’s plans for a lobby transparency register, and PR consultancy Cabinet Stewart for running the International Council for Capital Formation – a fake European think-tank that serves as a front organisation for mainly US-based opponents of the Kyoto Protocol.

In the worst greenwash category the German Atomic Forum took the prize ahead of runners-up BAE Systems nominated for promoting deadly weapons as environmentally friendly, and oil giant ExxonMobil for purporting to be reducing greenhouse gas emissions when in reality its emissions are increasing.

More than 6600 people across Europe participated in the online poll to decide the winners of the awards.

The need for lobbying transparency and rules

Through the Worst EU Lobbying Awards, the organisers aim to raise public awareness of controversial lobbying practices in Brussels.

This year’s awards happen at a time when the European Parliament is debating new rules around lobbying, as a response to the European Transparency Initiative (ETI) proposed by Commissioner Kallas. “The dubious practices this year’s nominees are engaged in show why effective transparency and ethics rules around EU lobbying are much needed,” says Christine Pohl of Friends of the Earth Europe. ”The European Parliament must act to oblige lobbyists to disclose who they are lobbying on whose behalf and how much money is involved.

“By awarding second place in the worst lobbying category to the European Public Affairs Consultancies Association (EPACA) who are actively campaigning against EU lobby disclosure rules, European citizens have spoken out against these attempts to preserve lobbying secrecy,” she added.

Worst EU Lobbying and Greenwash Awards 2007 — Winner and Runners-Up

Winner of the Worst EU Lobbying Award 2007

Winner of the Worst EU Greenwash Award 2007

The runners-up

The need for lobbying transparency and rules