And we are learning Brussels got in on the GONGO fun by funding NGOs to produce “studies” that lo and behold reflected the policy goals of those funding ‘em … under the table. On either side of the pond these scandals threaten to undo all sorts of similar turn-your-policy-objectives-into-supported-data-via-NGO-sleight-of-hand; it can’t happen fast enough.
The European Commission Faces Its Biggest Scandal in 20 Years
2 hours ago Guest Blogger 13 Comments
From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT
By Paul Homewood
Press Release from Symphony Environmental:
EU Commission NGO manipulation highlights decade-long corruption in plastic policy, says Symphony Environmental
With NGO financing from the EC coming to light, plastic policy needs greater transparency to remove corruption and confusion from legislation.
Recent reports from the “Brussels Morning” newspaper said that the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf had uncovered findings that are now shaking the entire European Union. They discovered that the European Commission had been financing non-governmental organizations (NGOs) lobbying for the policies of former EU Commissioner Frans Timmermans and influencing politicians to push through his “Green Deal.” It has now come to light that the EU commission gave €1 billion of public funds to green NGOs and lobbyists to promote the policies of the EU Commission.
The Report says, “We demand transparency from green NGOs. The European Commission must not use taxpayers’ money to fund studies from affiliated NGOs that conveniently produce results tailored to the Commission’s agenda. That is simply wrong. Studies must be professional and independent. European funds should never be used to serve a political faction or ideology, nor to manipulate MEPs or the public.”
Commenting on these revelations, Michael Laurier, CEO of Symphony Environmental, said, “Political manipulation of this kind undermines the credibility of NGOs who have been campaigning against plastic. We have never been able to understand until now how the EU could impose a ban on what they called ‘oxo-degradable plastic’ without any impact assessment or socio-economic analysis and without a dossier from the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) showing any justification for any such ban. We have legal advice that the ban does not apply to “oxo-biodegradable” plastic, which is a different technology, but people have been confused into thinking that it does.”
“Political manipulation also explains the behaviour of the EU court when we sought to deal with that confusion. What other court in the world would dismiss our expert evidence because we paid for it (perhaps they think that Intertek and the other international test-houses are happy to work for nothing) whilst at the same time accepting the evidence of Eunomia for which the Commission had paid. Further, what other court in the world would accept that legislators must act on the best evidence available and then excuse the Commission’s premature termination of a scientific investigation of biodegradable plastic technology by the European Chemicals Agency.”
“As a result of this political manipulation, thousands of tonnes of plastic packaging escape into the European environment and its coastal waters every month, where it will lie or float around for decades. It will continue to do so until this legislation is clarified – or unless the EU bans plastic altogether, which would be a very foolish thing to do. Symphony has been trying for more than ten years to explain to the EU that the way to reduce pollution is not to ban plastic, which is the best material for the job, but to improve waste management and make the plastic biodegradable, as a fail-safe mechanism so that it will quickly biodegrade if it does get into the open environment.”
The Brussels newspaper Report continues, “Many of these lobbying contracts were classified, making them inaccessible, and it was only during an audit conducted by the Court of Auditors that some of them came to light. Others were exposed thanks to whistleblowers—insiders within these NGOs who decided to speak out. Every year, €2.6 billion was spent on questionable studies designed to justify the necessity of the Green Deal.”
“It is not surprising that this scandal is linked to the name of Frans Timmermans, who frequently promised impact assessments but either failed to deliver them or eventually produced studies based on data supplied by NGOs. These reports lacked solid data, thorough analyses, and credible sources.”
Laurier concludes: “One could clearly sense the strong ideological agenda that the architect of the Green Deal was pushing within the Commission—despite repeated objections. His influence was simply too great. He sought to push through his green policies at all costs, with no regard for their impact on the European economy and living standards. Shockingly, one-third of NGOs currently do not disclose who funds them, or who establishes them.”
Brussels Morning cover the story, which they call the EU’s biggest scandal in 20 years. They write:
“A few days ago, the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf uncovered findings that are now shaking the entire European Union. The European Commission has long been financially supporting non-governmental organizations (NGOs) lobbying for the green policies of former EU Commissioner Frans Timmermans. Lobbyists, funded from the EU budget, were tasked with influencing politicians to push through the Green Deal. This is evidenced by secret contracts obtained by the Dutch newspaper.”
https://brusselsmorning.com/the-european-commission-faces-its-biggest-scandal-in-20-years/65937
