Big tech
Because Amazon’s top management does not respond to invitations for hearings in the European Parliament, lobbyists from the American technology company lose their access. This is only the second time that Parliament has taken such a measure.
Lobbyists working for the American technology company Amazon will lose their free access to the European Parliament. That was decided on Tuesday afternoon. The parliamentarians are fed up with lobbyists knocking down the door of the hemisphere, while the company does not want to be held accountable for the working conditions of its employees, it is heard.
The initiative to deny access to Amazon lobbyists comes from the European Parliament’s Committee on Work and Social Affairs. The top management of Amazon has been asked several times to explain the “abuses” in the workplace, but they have always failed to respond. In the meantime, the company’s lobbyists remained fully active, Parliament said.
Parliament’s Quaestors, who oversee the institution’s administrative procedures, finally made the decision on Tuesday to withdraw the access badges for Amazon lobbyists. According to MEP Sara Matthieu (Green), who sits on the Work and Social Affairs committee, this happened “under pressure from the Greens”.
Detours
“It is disturbing that Amazon lobbyists work on MPs every day but refuse accountability at a hearing. And all this while the company ignores all rules regarding employee rights and environmental protection,” says Matthieu. “It is recorded how long someone goes to the toilet, and employees are even prohibited from sitting down for a while. Parliament must be able to exercise its supervisory role, especially at one of the largest companies active in Europe.”
The unions also call the measure a “victory”. “The European Parliament has drawn a clear red line,” says Oliver Roethig of the European trade union umbrella. “Amazon’s anti-democratic behavior will not be tolerated – whether towards unions or parliaments.”
Whether Amazon lobbyists will continue to be able to enter the buildings through detours, for example at the invitation of a member of parliament, has yet to be decided. This is only the second time in the history of the European Parliament that a company’s lobbyists have been denied access. This was already the case for Monsanto lobbyists in 2017.
