How Amazon lobbyists could be banned from EU Parliament
Amazon’s lobbyists in Brussels could be banned from entering the European Parliament after a majority of political groups backed a call to withdraw their badges at an internal meeting on Wednesday afternoon (21 February).
During Wednesday’s conference of presidents, the Socialists & Democrats, Greens, Left and Renew Europe group leaders joined forces to push for Amazon’s badges to be withdrawn, EUobserver has been told.
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Amazon has failed to cooperate with MEPs three separate times since 2021 (Photo: Unsplash)
It is now up to the so-called quaestors — an internal body responsible for administrative and financial matters concerning EU lawmakers — to examine the case and decide whether the rules of procedure allow the petition to ban Amazon lobbyists from the EU institution.
What the political leaders of the groups decided on Wednesday is to give guidance to the quaestors, to follow the request to remove Amazon’s parliamentary badges.
There was no vote, but a broad majority emerged in favour, despite reservations from the centre-right European People’s Party, the rightwing European Conservatives & Reformists (ECR) and the hard-right Identity and Democracy (ID) groups against supporting the request — although EPP and ECR MEPs in the employment committee did.
"We have now moved one important step forward," the left-wing MEP Nikolaj Villumsen said. "This is basically a question of whether we in the EU parliament take our role and institution seriously or not".
The recommendation follows a meeting of the employment committee on 5 February, when MEPs decided to take action against the US online giant for failing to cooperate with them on three separate occasions since 2021.
"This is an important political sign that Amazon has crossed a line," said Bram Vranken, from Corporate Europe Observatory. "Amazon’s history of refusing democratic oversight of its harmful and exploitative practices should not be tolerated".
The quaestors are meeting next Tuesday (27 February), although that does not mean a decision can be expected then, a parliament spokesperson told EUobserver.
If successful, it would not be the first time that parliament has banned lobbyists from its premises.
In 2017, the conference of presidents barred Monsanto lobbyists from entering the parliament after the US pesticide company refused a request from the agriculture and environment committees to attend a discussion on glyphosate.
MEPs cannot force companies to attend hearings or questioning — but they can ask for the right to enter parliament’s premises to be withdrawn.
Under the parliament’s rules of procedure, companies on the transparency register with a long-term access badge have to comply with a number of duties, such as respecting the code of conduct.
Rule 123 states that the secretary general of the parliament, with the approval of the quaestors, shall withdraw or deactivate a badge if its holder has infringed the code of conduct or one of the obligations listed, "or has refused, without offering sufficient justification, to comply with a formal summons to attend a hearing or a committee meeting or to cooperate with a committee of inquiry".
How a no-show snowballed
Amazon’s non-cooperation dates back to May 2021, MEPs argue, when the tech giant first refused to attend a parliamentary hearing over concerns about its working conditions.
Two years later, in December 2023, MEPs attempted to schedule a visit to some of the company’s warehouses in Germany and Poland following allegations of poor working conditions, but to no avail.
In January 2024, the employment committee organised a hearing on the same issue with workers’ representatives from Germany and Poland, and again Amazon declined the invitation.
The snub infuriated MEPs, who called on the committee chair to write to president Roberta Metsola and take measures against the retailer.
The letter was soon backed by another, dated 12 February, in which 30 civil society organisations and trade unions said: "Considering the size of Amazon in Europe and the resources and presence it has, this is a wilful obstruction of democratic scrutiny of the company’s activities".
According to LobbyFacts, Amazon has spent at least €18.8 million lobbying the EU institutions in 10 years and employs 14 lobbyists with access to the parliament’s building.
Amazon has declined EUobserver’s request for comment.