08/07/2026
Today, the European Ombudsman announced she will initiate an inquiry into a matter raised in a complaint by CEO. See our press release:
https://corporateeurope.org/en/2026/07/ombudsman-shed-light-commissions-opaque-meetings-business
In the EU, a deregulation wave is wreaking havoc – protective rules on chemicals, pesticides, data privacy, social rights are demolished. To make way for it, the European Commission displays contempt for ethical rules and responsible decision-making. CEO is among the groups fighting back in many ways, one of them is to complain to the Ombudsman.
Today’s story in a nutshell: when the Commission prepares deregulation proposals – and they do that incessantly and at a high pace these days – they can choose to do that in secret with corporate lobbyists. That, of course, needs to be stopped, we argue in a complaint. We are happy to see the Ombudsman follow up.
This is about a form for consultation they call “Reality Checks”, that they have exempted from standard transparency requirements. What that means is, the Commission can set up big meetings with a high number of corporate representatives, and not ‘tell anyone’. In several cases, uncovered by CEO, not a word has been written on their website, until the moment when a new deregulation proposal, eg. a so-called omnibus, is presented to the public. At that point the Commission may explain briefly that a Reality Check was involved in he planning.
Everything is wrong with this – and the first step is to demand transparency.
The implication of the way the Commission acts is that the public has no right to follow who is advising them on upcoming law proposals. That is wrong on principle, and it is undermining existing transparency. For instance, the EU has a register of so-called expert groups – bodies often used to prepare law proposals. In the words of the Commission, the register was set up “to ensure transparency” on how and who assists them in relation to “the preparation of legislative proposals and policy initiatives”, among other things.
Well, hooray. But if they can choose to skip expert groups, and go for “Reality Checks” instead, then said transparency is undermined. And that is exactly what they are doing.
The ongoing deregulation campaign is a destructive bulldozer, forcing its way through European laws adopted in the public interest. Rules to protect the environment, nature, the climate, people, public health, are reduced to rubble, in the name of ‘competitiveness and simplification’. Part of fighting back is to work for proper decision-making.
With this complaint, we hope to fight back on secrecy and opacity. In parallel we are taking on a fresh battle on corporate capture, corporate dominance of the preparation of EU law proposals.
If you want to know more about corporate capture in the EU and the deregulation/simplification campaign, read our report:
