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As EU leaders prepare for the upcoming European Council meeting on 18–19 June, a new analysis by Corporate Europe Observatory and LobbyControl shows that corporate lobbying in Brussels has reached record levels, and their efforts are paying off.
Using data scraped from LobbyFacts, the EU corporate lobby league 2026 reveals that companies and industry associations with a declared annual lobby budget of at least €1 million — 173 in total — now collectively spend a minimum of €381.75 million per year lobbying EU institutions – nearly 50% more than in 2020. These figures are likely to be under-estimates.
These findings emerge at a time when the second von der Leyen Commission, alongside a right-wing majority in the European Parliament, is pursuing an extensive deregulation agenda under the guise of ‘competitiveness’ and ‘simplification’. This agenda fulfils long-standing requests from some of Europe’s most influential industry groups.
Vicky Cann, Corporate Europe Observatory researcher and campaigner, says:
“EU corporate lobbying has reached staggering levels, and today’s figures are just the tip of the iceberg. It’s not only about seeking influence; it’s about the most powerful industries in Europe and beyond capturing EU policy-making, while the public is largely in the dark about what is happening. This takes place in the midst of the biggest deregulation wave ever seen in the EU. Meanwhile, instead of defending the public, EU decision-makers are offering the biggest industry lobbies an open door.”
Key findings from the report include:
Worryingly, this increased expenditure is being rewarded with unprecedented political access and policy outcomes that undermine the public interest. Since taking office, the second von der Leyen Commission has launched a series of omnibus and deregulation initiatives affecting areas including chemicals legislation, agriculture, digital policy, industrial emissions, and permitting procedures.
Felix Duffy, LobbyControl researcher and campaigner says: “The fact that the largest Big Tech lobbyists collectively spend at least 73 million euros is a warning sign for democracy. At a time when Europe urgently needs robust digital regulations, the most powerful technology companies are investing record sums to undermine them. Google, Amazon, Meta and others already hold enormous market power and have privileged access to policymakers.
Rather than making concessions to Big Tech with a deregulation agenda, the European Commission should rigorously enforce the Digital Markets Act, the Digital Services Act, the AI Act, and the GDPR. Anyone who wants to protect digital fundamental rights, fair competition and democratic oversight must limit the power of Big Tech.”
The report makes various recommendations to rethink EU lobby rules. With some parts of decision-making being steadily captured by corporate interests at the expense of the interests of citizens, action is urgently needed to protect action on the climate and environmental pollution crises, and to preserve digital rights. The Commission should stop providing privileged access to industry lobbies and ensure that other voices, for example from the general public, civil society, and independent scientists and researchers, are heard loud and clear. And the EU Lobby Transparency Register must be made legally-binding on registrants, to tackle the significant problem of inaccurate data which litters the register, and which this report also highlights.
ENDS
For media inquiries, please contact
Vicky Cann, Corporate Europe Observatory researcher and campaigner
+44 7960 988096, @email
Felix Duffy, LobbyControl researcher and campaigner
+49 160 91478050, @email
Marcella Via, Corporate Europe Observatory press officer
+32 489622233, @email
Notes to editor
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