Winner of the Worst EU Lobbying Award 2007
BMW, Daimler and Porsche – nominated together in the worst EU lobbying category – gained more than 30 percent of the votes. Their joint lobbying offensive designed to water-down and delay the mandatory CO2 emission reduction targets proposed by the Commission after voluntary targets were not met was deemed to be the worst and most deceptive by voters across Europe.
“BMW, Daimler and Porsche are the worst among the car industry lobbyists,” explains Erik Wesselius from Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO). “When the Commission proposed compulsory CO2 targets, the car companies reacted immediately with a lobby campaign full of misinformation and scaremongering. Decision-makers were manipulated with grossly exaggerated threats of factory closures and job losses. The outcome of this year’s ‘Worst EU Lobbying Awards’ shows that European citizens strongly object to this type of manipulative and dishonest lobbying.”
Winner of the Worst EU Greenwash Award 2007
The special greenwash prize for the most audacious attempts to gain unjustifiable green credentials was awarded to the German Atomic Forum, which received more than a third of votes cast. It was nominated for its campaign aimed at improving the image of nuclear energy. Under the slogan “Germany’s unloved climate protectionists” it featured images of nuclear power plants placed in unpolluted and unspoilt natural environments.
“The German Atomic Forum took advantage of the public’s concern about climate change to promote nuclear energy,” says Ulrich Mueller from LobbyControl. “The one-sided ads use idyllic pictures of nature to gain public acceptance of longer lifespans for old nuclear power plants, ignoring the associated risks. The victory of the German Atomic Forum for worst greenwash shows that the public will not be conned by these attempts to gain unwarranted green credentials.”
The runners-up
The runners-up to BMW, Daimler and Porsche in the worst EU lobbying category were EPACA (European Public Affairs Consultancies Association) for its high-profile campaign against the European Commission’s plans for a lobby transparency register, and PR consultancy Cabinet Stewart for running the International Council for Capital Formation – a fake European think-tank that serves as a front organisation for mainly US-based opponents of the Kyoto Protocol.
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