Ping, something to the attention of the so called #Leaders of the EU - #Merz, #Macron, #Meloni & co - who are right now discussing #competitiveness at the informal #LeadersSummit in Alden Biesen Castle, Belgium. PS: There is no competitiveness on a dead planet! #HandsOffNature

Zu den Promis aus Epsteins Netzwerk gehören auch weltbekannte Ökonomen. Das zeigt das strukturelle Versagen einer ganzen Disziplin. www.surplusmagazin.de/epstein-file...

Stell dir vor, Meta könnte gleichzeitig dafür sorgen, dass Digitalregulierung im EU-Parlament aufgeweicht und dann in Irland nicht richtig durchgesetzt wird. Willkommen in der EU: Metas Marsch durch die EU-Institutionen. digitalrechte.de/news/metas-m...

1/ Commission President von der Leyen & EU government leaders meet today for a 'competitiveness' retreat in #AldenBiesen 🇧🇪 VDL, since her reappointment in 2024, has unleashed an aggressive #deregulation agenda Worryingly, she is now getting absolute backing from #Merz, #Meloni, #DeWever & others

Incoming 'EU Inc' reform plan is a "complete distraction" that won’t fix founders' real problems, @etuc-ces.bsky.social 's @estherlynch.bsky.social tells @euractiv.com www.euractiv.com/news/intervi...

The EU's national leaders have just started arriving at the former Teutonic Order castle of Alden Biesen, with 2 rival visions for how to save Europe: 🇩🇪🇪🇸#Merzoni are coming with a deregulation pact calling for less EU 🇫🇷🇪🇸#Manchez are calling for more EU with eurobonds & "made in Europe" preference

If the aim of European policy was wellbeing of the people rather than merely competing against others, conclusions and solutions would probably diverge a lot from more and more #deregulation, and more and more military spending www.ft.com/content/53df...

Antonio Costa was once a socialist, a shorthand for understanding capitalism first, and then reform/revolution. this deregulation push is nuts. it wont work, because we are not in the 1990s neoliberalism, but a world of heavy state intervention and transformative ambitions.

It is quite surprising that the #SPD in Germany can sign up to these deregulation demands directly challenging trade unions and civil society in general. Does Klingbeil want to push his party below 10%? www.politico.eu/wp-content/u... @ibarthes.bsky.social #AldenBiesen

So Europe should weaken carbon pricing to protect the climate? Well, hard to argue that convincingly. Better that #CEFIC and others are honest and just demand less ambitious climate policies. Then elected politicians have to decide. #Antwerp. antwerp-declaration.eu/the-antwerp-... #AldenBiesen

Check out our blog on tobacco industry lobbying in the EU - https://bit.ly/4ktfvhU

Trump’s latest rollback of US climate regulation is another reckless gift to Big Oil that ignores the costs of unchecked pollution. Learn more via @350.org 350.org/press-releas...

💡How is corporate lobbying reshaping EU rules on health, chemicals and deregulation? Learn more via @corporateeurope.org corporateeurope.org/en/2026/02/r...

"Big Tech has gone too far, and EU legislation is on the way to give you more control over addictive features in social media apps. The bad news is, Big Tech has begun a full scale lobbying battle against this legislation."

On why it matters that the President of the EU Commission cozies up with lobbyists from polluting industries 1️⃣ day ahead of a major summit that will 1. bring all the EU leaders together 2. discuss getting rid of protections for our health and planet ⬇️ friendsoftheearth.eu/news/the-fut...

👎 As the biggest industrial players gather in #Antwerp, their message is clear: roll back climate & environmental rules in the name of competitiveness. ⛔ We strongly disagree. 🚨 The claim that climate policy is the main cause of Europe’s industrial difficulties does not stand up to scrutiny.

Morgen komen Europese leiders samen in Alden Biesen om onze industrie te redden. De Wever wil Europese regels afbreken en lidstaten meer macht geven. Dat verzwakt Europa net wanneer we sterk moeten staan tegenover China en Trump. Mijn opinie in Knack 👇 www.knack.be/nieuws/werel...

Morgen komen de Europese leiders samen in Alden Biesen. Context: de benarde situatie van de Europese industrie. De Wever en co misbruiken die situatie om te snijden in ons klimaatbeleid en Europa te versnipperen. Dat zal niks opleveren. Uiteraard bepleit de groene visie precies het omgekeerde 👇

Put down your phone - if you still can - and read @corporateeurope.org's report on how US corporate and executive 'diplomacy'/brinkmanship works to undermine the EU's digital legislation, using an army of lobbyists and a toolbox full of dirty tricks.

ICE violates Rule of Law and human rights, with deadly consequences in Minneapolis. As Europeans, we must be clear: Trump’s crackdowns are wrong. We must stand against far-right fake patriots who want similar policies here in Europe - our message today in the European Parliament

CEFIC, lobbyists for the fossil fuel industry, want Europe locked on oil and gas even as we stop burning them for energy Plastics, fertilisers, any petrochemicals to keep drilling and selling – and they have the ears of many powerful politicians today Damn the climate, damn people's health

Today in @contexte.com 👉 In Antwerp, nearly half a dozen EU leaders are attending the industry summit Macron, Merz, Belgian De Wever, Dutch Schoof & Austria's Stocker will participate. More could join. This is complicating Cefic's organisation ; it's been somewhat “overwhelmed”

📢 EU leaders: preserve the integrity of the #EUMethaneRegulation! Ahead of the Antwerp summit and the informal EU leaders’ retreat, it is essential to remind that strong #methane rules strengthen the EU's energy security, competitiveness, and affordability Check our Joint Civil Society Statement 👇

5/ Today Commission President von der Leyen returns to #Antwerp to cosy-up to the chemicals & wider industry. Tomorrow 🇪🇺 leaders meet in #AldenBiesen to discuss further rolling-back of social & environmental rules. When will EU stand up to big polluters? corporateeurope.org/en/2026/02/r...

8/ For more information on the EU’s agenda to slash back green and social protections, check out our Deregulation Watch page which we keep regularly updated on the #Omnibus programme, proposals for a 28th regime, and many other #deregulation nonsenses corporateeurope.org/en/deregulat...

New research @corporateeurope.org underlines Antwerp summit (with Chemical lobby at its core) does not pursue an agenda for workers, people and nature If up to these overpaid CEOs @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu etc. we can all enjoy more harmful #PFAS in our food and bodies @epsu.bsky.social

More detailed, highly informed analysis of the industry push for deregulation in the European Union. It's clear that this wave of corporate lobbying has nothing to do with being fit for the future. It's just giant incumbents trying to bolster their profit margins by offloading harms onto people.

On the hellish detention and deportation system built by EU countries. With quotes from the current and the former German chancellors expressing their commitment to the inhumane cruelty of this apparatus, described here in forensic detail.

7/ Civil society organisations are saying "enough"! We need: 🌱 Rules that protect people and planet 🔬 Evidence-based lawmaking 🚫 No more blank cheques for polluting industries Europe’s future should prioritise health, climate, and justice - not just profits. corporateeurope.org/en/2026/02/t...

6/ This time last year when VDL went to #Antwerp, she told industry that she had delivered on all 10 demands of its 2024 Antwerp Declaration. For a quick refresher on this industry wish-list see our cartoons: corporateeurope.org/en/2024/05/d...

1/ Revealed: industry’s lobby blitz to undermine chemicals policy reform. See our brand new analysis of the #REACH chemicals regulation lobby battle in Brussels: corporateeurope.org/en/2026/02/r...

Further working on my analytical tool for EU-Analytics. If you look at the (just 11) main votes in the European Parliament on migration in this legislature, the EPP now votes more often together with the ECR, PfE and ESN than with its 'von der Leyen' platform partners:

🇪🇺 EU countries scale back #tobacco #tax proposal: A win for industry #lobbying? “When taxes are weaker, consumption stays higher, addiction lasts longer, and more people develop serious disease” @lungcancereurope.bsky.social www.theexamination.org/articles/eu-... @theexamination.org

Since 2024, the Antwerp Declaration has become a shadow roadmap for the EU - prioritising industry profits over env and social protections. Deregulation proposals are fast-tracked without impact assessments or meaningful public consultation; but billions in public funding go to polluting industries.

Almost two years after the Antwerp Declaration—the petrochemical industry‘s wishlist for deregulation, subsidies, & simplification steers EU policy. Alarm bells are ringing. Privileged @ec.europa.eu & petrochemical ties block EU climate goals—especially on plastics & toxic chemicals: bit.ly/4acaZiW

VdL to meet with chem lobbists before an informal retreat at a Belgian castle for EU heads of state, where a new suite of "competitiveness" deregulation measures tops the agenda. In a joint declaration, the coalition... denounces a "recurring pattern" of privileged access for corporate interests.

The Antwerp summit is followed by a 'retraite' of government leaders 12th aiming to cement the corporate agenda further and pour it into reinforced concrete at the EU Council 19-20 March @etuc-ces.bsky.social sets out its demands to @eucopresident.consilium.europa.eu in Open Letter, rejecting 3/

A 🧵on EU deregulation, Antwerp summit and government leaders gathering to align with corporate agenda demanding a bonfire of rules & regulations 1/ @politico.eu @strikemap.org @corporateeurope.org @sampolmaandblad.bsky.social @eeb.org @foeeurope.bsky.social @euobserver.com @labourstart.bsky.social

The irony of the #deregulation drive of a European Commission captured by business lobbyists is that the way to enhance firms' #competitiveness is not to increase profits with current business models but to steer a 'race to the top' on social and ecological standards: euobserver.com/201594/eu-le...

"even as it continues to receive millions of euros in EU support, Euronews has rebalanced its business model to become increasingly reliant on politically connected investors, lobbyists and commercial partnerships with entities linked to illiberal states."

🔴EXCLUSIVE: After receiving €352m in EU funds over 15 years, Euronews is increasingly leaning on political patrons, lobbyists and state-linked partners, an Euractiv investigation finds. The shift is raising questions in Brussels about oversight and editorial independence.… http://dlvr.it/TQt7Mc

More reports of Gmail turning over email content to ICE are coming out now. techcrunch.com/2026/02/10/g...

En de belangrijkste les blijft: des te meer de conservatieve krachten radicaal rechts proberen te kopieren en ermee samen te werken, des te meer kiezers ze verliezen.

“The U.S. has a long history of covert manipulation of politics across the globe. But to see it happen in Europe is new, and we should be worried,” said CEO's Kenneth Haar “Big Tech regulation is set to be the first testing ground of the new American way of imposing their will on Europe”

🔴 NEW - Trump Accused of Trying to ‘Divide and Destabilise’ Europe Through New MAGA Fund UK and EU leaders have been called upon to “reject” MAGA’s “foreign interference”. 📝 @adambarnett.bsky.social, @clarecarlile.bsky.social & @writesbright.bsky.social

Big Tech spent €151 million lobbying the EU last year. That’s 890 lobbyists — more than elected MEPs. Now key digital rights like GDPR and the AI Act are being quietly rolled back. We looked at who’s really influencing EU tech rules — and what’s happening behind closed doors. 👇

🚨 Tomorrow, von der Leyen meets corporate lobbyists just hours before EU leader retreat. Trade union and NGO coalition warns against an (E)U-turn on protections. We call for rules that protect democracy, people & planet - not polluters. 📄 Joint Declaration: corporateeurope.org/en/2026/02/t...

"In Germany, Palantir has supplied software for counter-terrorism and law enforcement(...). In Brussels, officials privately admit that the EU’s migration agenda is now technologically dependent on US-born systems." www.rosalux.de/en/news/id/5...

Here's some of our publications exposing & challenging #Mandelson's intimate ties with corporate #lobbyists and oligarchs during his years as EU Trade Commissioner ➡️ archive.corporateeurope.org/docs/GlobalE... ➡️ corporateeurope.org/en/blog/mand... ➡️ corporateeurope.org/en/internati... #Epstein