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Re:How Google quietly funds Europe’s leading tech policy ins... by belter on Sunday August 01, 2021 @05:03PM (#28029947)
Lobbying in general is way more corrupt in Europe than in US. In the US the fact that professional lobbyists exist, puts pressure on non official operations and makes it easier to track registered lobbyists. This does not make US based activities less censurable, but in Europe the current model is one of voluntary registration.

Google based lobbying actions in the European Union are no less intense: 249 meetings! Its amazing how much time EU officials seem to have.

https://www.integritywatch.eu/organizations

From their results looks like Google is not getting back their money worth...

Re:How Google quietly funds Europe’s leading tech policy ins... by dathinab on Sunday August 01, 2021 @07:26PM (#28031218)
Just to be clear I'm not saying it's not a problem, but:

> 249 meetings!

The parliament alone has more then 700 members, idk. if 249 for one of the largest tech companies is really that bad. The problem are less the number of meetings but a lot of other things around it.

Re:How Google quietly funds Europe’s leading tech policy ins... by belter on Sunday August 01, 2021 @08:00PM (#28031463)
Make that actually 260 meetings....sometimes 12 times with the same persons. Full PDF List here: https://ec.europa.eu/transparencyregister/public/consultatio...
Re:How Google quietly funds Europe’s leading tech policy ins... by estaseuropano on Monday August 02, 2021 @03:21AM (#28033803)
50000 staff, a dozen different institutions... Really not a high number.
Re:How Google quietly funds Europe’s leading tech policy ins... by belter on Monday August 02, 2021 @10:35AM (#28037041)
They are not meeting with the commissioner for fishing so this is not to be divided equally between all departments :-)

This represents a meeting every week, for 5 years in a row. There are 27 EU countries, and approximately 25 million active enterprises in the EU. Not all these companies are of the same size but for large companies you have more than 25,000. That is a large footprint. Are these EU officers able to cope with all that and still provide so much attention to a few companies ?

"Lobbyists and Bureaucrats in Brussels: Capitalism’s Brokers"

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326878033_Lobbyists...

"...With over 30,000 lobbyists in town, Brussels is often called the European capital of lobbying. Despite this, little is known on how this political system works in practice. This book offers an unprecedented window into the everyday relationships between bureaucrats and interest representatives. Where the media only shows lobbyists as they meet MEPs and submit amendments, the book argues that the bulk of their work is done in close contact with EU bureaucrats - a form of 'quiet politics' developed by the business community, targeting officials with little public exposure..."

Re:How Google quietly funds Europe’s leading tech policy ins... by dathinab on Monday August 02, 2021 @06:26AM (#28034898)
I don't think the meetings with the staff are a thing or are reported on. But I could be wrong.
Re:How Google quietly funds Europe’s leading tech policy ins... by estaseuropano on Monday August 02, 2021 @02:26AM (#28033474)
Are you referring to the EU or or an individual European country? I'd be curious what concretely you are comparing as from all I've ever seen and read the US always came off as 'here you can buy laws' while e.g. EU has extensive scrutiny and consultation procedures and policy is very consensus driven.
Re:How Google quietly funds Europe’s leading tech policy ins... by belter on Monday August 02, 2021 @07:50AM (#28035413)
I am commenting and contrasting on Lobbying activities and their lack regulation in Europe and particularity in the European Union. If we discuss corruption in general, frankly, in Europe, the revolving door between business and government is even higher. Most countries are the size of a small US state.