Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper), Weeks after Amazon workers and civil society allies demanded an Amazon ban from European institutions, the European Parliament is reportedly set to withdraw Amazon’s lobbying badges.
The retail giant has come under fresh attack from an alliance of 30 trade unions and civil society organizations.
They say the company is set to be effectively be barred from lobbying inside the European Parliament.
If so, this is only the second time in the history of the European Parliament that a corporation’s lobby access would be removed.
The move comes after Amazon’s reportedly repeated refusal to attend hearings in the European Parliament on working conditions in Amazon warehouses. Amazon is a frequent visitor to the EU Parliament. In January alone, it is said to have had nine meetings with MEPs, including a meeting just a day after the hearing.
Earlier this month, the 30 trade unions and civil society organizations, including Corporate Europe Observatory, UNI Europa, the ETUC, LobbyControl, and SOMO sent a joint letter to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, who forwarded the request to the College of Quaestors, in support of the removal of Amazon’s badges.
The Secretariat of the EU Transparency Register is, it is claimed by the alliance, investigating Amazon for failing to report on its affiliations to several think tanks and declaring a lobbying budget that is seemingly too low. This investigation was opened following complaints from civil society organizations.
To ensure that Amazon abides by the EU’s lobby regulations and the decision from the European Parliament, Corporate Europe Observatory and their partners say the EU Institutions “need to strengthen their scrutiny of EU lobbying.”
Italian Amazon worker and European Works Council member Gianpaolo Meloni comments: “Amazon treats our democratic institutions like it treats us, its workers: with contempt. The decision by the European Parliament shows Amazon that it can’t continue disregarding our democratic institutions without consequences. And I hope the same will be true in the future when it comes to our democratic rights: like the right to freely join a union and bargain for better conditions and pay.”
