Europe Inc. : regional and global restructuring and the rise of corporate power

Over the past two decades the major international corporations have become industrial lobbyists within the European Community, to such an extent that they pose a threat to democracy. In turn the EC has been very receptive to the political agenda of corporate interest groups, in particular to the notion of making Europe a free trade zone. This book provides an insight into the systematic ways in which transnational corporations work through lobby groups to shape EU policy. The authors cover the major players in this anti-democratic practice and analyze the structural and political factors which have enabled corporate political influence in Europe to dominate. They examine: how governments have been persuaded to increase competitiveness by dismantling and privatising public services, deregulating industry and dismantling social and environment protections; the increasing influence of corporate lobby groups on decision makers and the corresponding lack of voice given to small business, organised labour and individual citizens; the impact of the single market and currency; structural adjustment in eastern Europe; and the role of the European industrial lobby groups within the WTO and the important multilateral agreement on investment. The range of case studies include European lobbying within the biotech industry, the PR industry and the UN climate summit. Over the past two decades the major international corporations have become industrial lobbyists within the European Union, to such an extent that they pose a threat to democracy. In turn the EU has been very receptive to the political agenda of corporate interest groups, in particular to the notion of making Europe a free trade zone.

Europe Inc. provides the first real insight into the systematic ways in which transnational corporations work through lobby groups to shape EU policy. The authors cover the major players in this anti-democratic practice and analyze the structural and political factors that have enabled corporate political influence in Europe to dominate. They examine how governments have been persuaded to increase competitiveness by dismantling and privatizing public services, deregulating industry, and dismantling social and environment protections; the increasing influence of corporate lobby groups on decision makers and the corresponding lack of voice given to small business, organized labor and individual citizens; the impact of the single market and currency; structural adjustment in Eastern Europe; the role of the European industrial lobby groups within the WTO, and the important Multilateral Agreement on Investment. Case studies include European lobbying within the biotech industry, the PR industry and the UN climate summit. Europe Inc. provides the first real insight into the systematic ways in which transnational corporations - working through lobby groups - have succeeded in influencing a wide range of policies of the EU and other international institutions, such as the OECD, WTO and the United Nations. The authors cover the major players in these anti-democratic practices and analyze the structural and political factors which have enabled corporate political power to dominate. In their analysis of the EU's current neoliberal economic strategies -which involve promoting deregulation and privatization in virtually all areas and subordinating every policy field to the objective of international competitiveness - the authors focus on the activities of corporate lobby groups and corporate state alliances. These include bodies such as the European Roundtable of Industrialists (ERT), the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and the Association for Monetary Union of Europe (AMUE). The featured case studies examine corporate influence on transport, biotechnology, climate change policies, as well as key economic globalization projects such as the Transatlantic Economic Partnership and the Multilateral Agreement on Investment. Now in a fully revised new edition, Europe Inc. examines the ways in which major industrial corporations have gained so much power as lobbyists within the European Union that they pose a threat to democracy itself. From the factors that have promoted the domination of corporate influence, to how that influence has pressured governments to privatize public services, deregulate industry, and remove social and environmental protections, to the roughshod treatment of small business, organized labor, and individual citizens, and much more, Europe Inc. is a devastating wake up call. Highly recommended. Transnational corporations (TNCs), working both individually and within various lobby groups, have become significant political actors in European Union decision making.