Viscount Étienne Davignon

This spring, the European Commission for the first time ever published a list of the names and mandates of special advisers to EU Commissioners, 55 in total. The list revealed that Suez director and shareholder Étienne Davignon advises Development Commissioner Michel on “Africa policy, in particular the role of the private sector in the economic development of sub-Sahara Africa”. Both Mr. Davignon and Commissioner Michel claim that there is no conflict of interest between the role as special advisor and sitting on the board of Suez, the world’s largest water multinational. Davignon owns 11.111 shares (worth over 472.000 euro at the current share price) of Suez, a company with operations that include electricity, natural gas and waste management. Suez has clear commercial interests in Africa and plans to increase those interests.

Os Vencedores 2007

WORST LOBBY 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.”

WORST GREENWASH 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.”