This month's EU pesticide meeting presents a mixed picture. We finally see some long-overdue ban proposals on substances harmful to humans & wildlife under consideration. Yet, political deadlock persists on banning endocrine disruptors & #PFAS #pesticides.
www.pan-europe.info/blog/eu-cont...
Inspiring presentation on the most important progressive activist gathering this year: the World Social Forum, August 4-8 in Benin 🇧🇯
More than 50,000 people from across the world are expected, with activist caravans arriving from different parts of Africa
For more information ➡️ fsm2026benin.org
Such a pleasure to be in Paris and participate in the "European gathering of movements for struggle and social & ecological transformation" 🎊
Excellent strategising on challenges such as the rise of the far right, #austerity, growing #inequality, #deregulation and the dangerous power of #BigTech 💪
And how come F-gases (big source of TFA) were allowed continued production in the first place, despite being strong contributer to climate crisis?
See our 2005 report Chilling Intent : archive.corporateeurope.org/lobbycracy/c...
Representatives from 5 PFAS-affected communities are taking the floor. Lawyear Isabelle Lamuseau about 3M: "Flemish government did not take action to not jeopardise a road project. I acted not as a lawyer but as a member of the public, and pointed out illegalities by 3M and the road project".
Full room for tonight's event on #PFAS and affected communities.
Renew MEP Martin Hojsík recalls EEA "Late lessons from early warnings" reports. Health impacts are felt over several generations.
Action is taking too long. @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu A full ban on PFAS now!
#ForeverChemicals
🚨 The EU’s Industrial Accelerator Act #IAA is finally out:
🚘 The result of heavy lobbying, led by the steel + car industries (Séjourné's door was always open)
🏭 Claims to promote the green transition, but really is about slashing permitting rules that protect people + nature.
Expect ⬆️ pollution 💨
Our friends in Transnational Institute have set up a page with tributes from across the globe to Susan George who passed lately. Lots of good words there, recommended reading:
www.tni.org/en/article/i...
Corporate lobbyists in Brussels have a playbook.
4 tactics they use to shape EU laws without us noticing:
1️⃣ Repeat until it sounds like consensus
2️⃣ Throw money at it
3️⃣ Blur the lines between regulator and regulated
4️⃣ Delay, distract, greenwash
The more we know it, the less we fall for it!
⚠️ Independent media @republik.ch are facing a lawsuit by Palantir after a 2-part investigation in Dec 25, based on FOI requests, showing how the company lobbied Swiss authorities. The case raises real concerns about freedom of the press. 1/ netzpolitik.org/2026/david-g...
2 years ago, we were in ground in Antwerp protesting the Clean Industrial Deal, the European Commission’s flagship policy.
Surprising to no one, despite the name, it’s not so clean and definitely not green!
It's worth watching it again and check out the thread for frequently asked questions on it 👇
Political cartoon showing a large chainsaw labeled “DEREGULATION” cutting into a tree. The tree’s canopy is labeled with words including “ENVIRONMENT,” “HEALTH STANDARDS,” “DIGITAL RIGHTS,” and “etc.” A figure labeled “Ursula von der Leyen” is pushing the chainsaw into the tree, which looks distressed and is cracking. On the left, a large figure resembling Donald Trump applauds, with “clap clap clap” written beside him. In the center, a smaller figure labeled “Milei,” wearing a suit and wild hair, raises both fists in celebration. The scene suggests deregulation aggressively damaging public protections while some political figures cheer. Cartoon by Khalil Bendib.
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Commission President von der Leyen & EU government leaders meet today for a 'competitiveness' retreat in #AldenBiesen 🇧🇪
VDL, since her reappointment in 2024, has unleashed an aggressive #deregulation agenda
Worryingly, she is now getting absolute backing from #Merz, #Meloni, #DeWever & others
Title slide fore report saying "REACHing out: Industry’s 2025 lobby blitz to undermine chemicals policy reform"
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Revealed: industry’s lobby blitz to undermine chemicals policy reform.
See our brand new analysis of the #REACH chemicals regulation lobby battle in Brussels:
corporateeurope.org/en/2026/02/r...
Cartoon shows a big yellow banner saying: Big Chemicals Megacorp. In the image there is a graph on the wall with an upwards axis depicting euros and the graph has a steep upwards trajectory. A suited man on the left is holding a full champagne glass and saying “Bloody well done us!” The suited man on the right looks worried and is saying “The graph isn’t profits; it’s the costs of removing forever chemicals in the environment”. Cartoon by @CartoonRalph
If you are in 🇧🇪 tomorrow night, check out - #PFAS, nos poisons éternels - showing on La 1, RTBF, Wednesday 11 Feb at 20.15, + Sunday 15 at 22.30.
The film investigates the scale of PFAS contamination disaster in 🇪🇺 + 🇺🇸 and the urgency for collective European action against this global threat.
Great work @ecologistasenaccion.org
Check out the origional English here: corporateeurope.org/en/2026/02/p...
A broad alliance underlines similar points and warns how corporations and @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu are attacking protections for workers, communities and environment
We need something different in the EU, an agenda that puts people and planet before profits
An agenda for Quality Jobs, for
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“The U.S. has a long history of covert manipulation of politics across the globe. But to see it happen in Europe is new, and we should be worried,” said CEO's Kenneth Haar
“Big Tech regulation is set to be the first testing ground of the new American way of imposing their will on Europe”
🚨 Tomorrow, von der Leyen meets corporate lobbyists just hours before EU leader retreat.
Trade union and NGO coalition warns against an (E)U-turn on protections.
We call for rules that protect democracy, people & planet - not polluters.
📄 Joint Declaration:
corporateeurope.org/en/2026/02/t...
Big Tech spent €151 million lobbying the EU last year.
That’s 890 lobbyists — more than elected MEPs.
Now key digital rights like GDPR and the AI Act are being quietly rolled back.
We looked at who’s really influencing EU tech rules — and what’s happening behind closed doors. 👇
“Unsustainable economic activity and focus on #growth has been a driver of the decline of biodiversity and stands in way of transformative change,” warns report by IPBES.
🤔 Will EU leaders discuss this in Alden Biesen Castle on Thursday at #competitiveness summit?
ipbes.canto.de/v/IPBES12Med...
The Commission is assessing whether #Mandelson's #Epstein contacts violated EU ethics rules 👏
Just a reminder that #Mandelson, as EU Trade Commissioner (2004–2008), operated an open-door policy for corporate #lobbyists & prioritised big business interests, as summarised in this cartoon from 2008 ⬇️
@jennifer-clapp.bsky.social @deschuttero.bsky.social @ipes-food.org @fian-international.bsky.social @muteschimpf.bsky.social
🤯When false solutions reach next level of falsehood. Instead of reducing pesticide use and restore ecosystems, let's go for CO2-loaded tech making food production dependent on dodgy tech providers!
Good response from @beelifeeu.bsky.social at the very end.
And we can just wonder will pay for the real life costs for society from the scandalous level of privileged access for dirty industries to the Commission. Watch our new video that explains: corporateeurope.org/en/2026/02/n...
We invite you to join the webinar "PFAS pesticides: Threatening health and the environment".
📅24 February 2026 at 14:00 CET
📍European Parliament & Online
👉 Register here: www.pan-europe.info/events/confe...
As the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Climate Change prepares for a major study on transforming food systems to protect human rights & prevent climate harm, IATP & @ips-dc.org submitted comments highlighting how policies protecting corporations are key barriers to progress. www.iatp.org/comments-int...
happening this morning in Minneapolis -- ICE agents drawing guns on observers. I reiterate again that it is only a matter of time before DHS kills more innocent people in Minnesota. Congress needs to shut this shit down right now.
CEO published several investigations showing that Peter #Mandelson, as EU Trade Commissioner (2004–2008), operated an "open-door policy" for corporate #lobbyists, incl. BusinessEurope, prioritizing big business interests in the "Global Europe" strategy
➡️ archive.corporateeurope.org/docs/GlobalE...
The EU Commission has sacked Henrik Hololei, its former top transport official 👏
Hololei accepted free flights, gifts and hospitality from Qatar while negotiating a transport agreement with the Gulf state that benefited the country’s airline ⚠️
The Commission should learn a deeper lesson from this
