This is the second time the Parliament has revoked a corporation’s access to its premises. However, the ban will not hamper Amazon’s lobbying capacity.
On 27 February, the European Parliament decided to revoke the entry badges of Amazon’s 14 registered lobbyists – marking the second instance the institution has denied a corporation access, following the 2017 ban on Monsanto lobbyists. This decision was made in response to a written request by Dragoș Pîslaru MEP (RO/Renew), Chair of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL).
The letter from the EMPL Chair to President Roberta Metsola argued for the ban, citing Amazon’s repeated refusal to participate in EMPL hearings. The situation is concerning due to ongoing allegations of Amazon’s violation of “fundamental rights of assembly, collective bargaining and action as well as fair and just working conditions,” as outlined in the letter.
Specifically, Pîslaru details four instances of Amazon refusing to attend parliamentary committee hearings. One of these included CEO Jeff Bezos’ refusal to attend an exchange of views in the Parliament. More recently, the company had rejected a request by MEPs to visit their facilities in Germany and Poland.
While the withdrawal of Amazon’s access to the European Parliament is significant, it is important to note that the 14 access badges represent only a fraction of the corporation’s lobbying efforts.
According to recent reports by Corporate Europe Observatory, the bulk of Amazon’s lobbying activities are managed by 13 different lobbying firms at the EU level, which will not be affected by the ban. Furthermore, Amazon does not disclose its connections with at least two think tanks – the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) and the Centre for European Reform (CER) – both of which have reported their ties with Amazon.
Revoking Amazon’s badges will undoubtedly affect the company’s reputation, but it will not severely hamper its influence in EU policy making.