By Martin Banks - 27th May 2010
The commission’s DG environment, as the organiser of Green Week, should not allow industry to buy its way into shaping Green Week debates
Civil society groups
It is only by confronting ideas that Europe will find the best solutions for the challenges of our times. Thus, we are slightly surprised by the signatories' call to exclude one particular side of the debate
Friends of Europe statement
The European commission has been attacked over its "inappropriate outsourcing" of Green Week events.
A group of civil society organisations says it is "unacceptable" that a think tank that "allows its corporate members to sponsor debates" will be given a "prominent role" in the high-profile event.
In particular, the alliance of 35 organisations has written to EU environment commissioner Janez Potocnik complaining about the participation of Friends of Europe, a respected and long-established Brussels-based think tank, run by former FT journalist Giles Merritt.
Friends of Europe is organising a two-day policy "summit" on 1 and 2 June, called "Pricing the Earth, how business can protect and profit from biodiversity," as part of the commission's flagship Green Week event.
According to the alliance, sponsors for the Friends of Europe debate include Coca-Cola, biofuels lobby group UNICA and the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE).
The letter to Potocnik, sent through the Brussels-based lobbying watchdog Corporate Europe Observatory on Wednesday, complains about this, saying, "We would like to express our grave concern about this summit."
It goes on, "We find it unacceptable that the commission has outsourced parts of Green Week to a think tank that allows its corporate members to sponsor debates in return for having a prominent role in the event.
"The commission’s DG environment, as the organiser of Green Week, should not allow industry to buy its way into shaping Green Week debates.
"We also note with concern that DG environment has given Friends of Europe this prominent role despite the continued boycott of the commission’s lobby transparency register by this think-tank."
The group goes on to say that the environmental record of all three sponsors makes their role in Green Week "particularly inappropriate."
The alliances says that Coca-Cola was earlier this year found guilty by a committee of the state government of Kerala (India) of “serious depletion of water resources” and contamination of water and soil.
"Elsewhere in India, Coca-Cola’s plants also cause water shortages, pollution of groundwater and soil, as well as exposure to toxic waste and pesticides," it says.
The letter to Potocnik adds, "UNICA, the Brazilian sugar cane lobby, promotes the expansion of sugar cane production despite the fact that this has devastating effects on biodiversity as grasslands, wooded savannah and forests are converted into plantations."
"The ACE is represented by the company Stora Enso, which is involved in large-scale monoculture eucalyptus plantations in Latin America, with disastrous impacts on people and the environment."
The letter calls on the commission to "intervene and ensure that the speakers representing the sponsors are withdrawn from the Green Week programme."
It adds, "We also appeal to you to ensure that future events hosted by DG environment are not sponsored by corporations and industry lobby groups."
Friends of Europe issued a full response to the attack, saying it was "surprised" to hear about the letter.
In a detailed statement, it said it wanted to "avoid any future misunderstandings."
It said, "Friends of Europe offers a neutral platform for debate to people from all backgrounds and opinion, including international and EU officials, NGOs and business of all shapes and colours.
"It goes without saying that Friends of Europe does not itself push for or against particular policies and most certainly does not represent any interests: we write balanced reports and debate programmes, and bring in a variety of voices that hold different points of view.
"It is only by confronting ideas that Europe will find the best solutions for the challenges of our times. Thus, we are slightly surprised by the signatories' call to exclude one particular side of the debate.
"Friends of Europe is organising three sessions at Green Week, offering the floor to a wide range of stakeholders that do not necessarily hold industry-friendly views, for example, the Greens in parliament, WWF UK and New Economics Foundation."
It adds, "Friends of Europe has always been transparent on financial partners, who receive two advantages in return for their support: visibility in the communication campaign surrounding a debate and an opportunity to speak at it.
"However, Friends of Europe is solely responsible for the intellectual balance and quality of any project, and all speakers are critically interviewed by Giles Merritt and Willy De Backer, two moderators well known for not avoiding difficult questions in their direct and open interview style.
"No other think tank in Brussels appears to be looking as much as Friends of Europe in such a coherent and holistic way at sustainability challenges.
"As Friends of Europe's aim is to stimulate debate, it goes without saying that our events are open to all. The authors of the letter are, of course, most welcome to attend the sessions during Green Week.
"On the lobby transparency register, it is specifically because Friends of Europe is not a lobbying organisation, and does not represent an interest, that we have not signed the register - like the majority of think tanks. But we have asked the commission to create a similar register for independent organisations, which we'll be delighted to sign."
No-one from the commission was immediately available for comment.
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