Real Wheeling and Dealing in Brussels; Has the lobbying industry grown out of control?

Byline: William Underhill

It was every lobbyist's dream. French President Jacques Chirac was persuaded to help, and so was Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell lent a hand, as did Chancellor Gerhard Schroder of Germany. Meanwhile, the giants of the European chemical industry stumped up millions of euros over five years to barrage members of the European Parliament and national officials with data and arguments. In their sights: proposals from the European Union for a comprehensive safety regime that would force companies to test and register some 30,000 chemicals used in everything from bleach to shower gel.

It was the fiercest lobbying war in EU history, and a successful one. While the deal still needs final approval, its shape looks clear: the number of regulated substances has dropped to barely 12,000, and companies will not be forced to use safer substitutes whenever they exist. Aleksandra Kordecka of Friends of the Earth in Brussels marvels at the "mind-boggling, absolutely unprecedented" campaign of political pressure. But if the result was a victory for the chemical industry, it has fed a backlash against the lobbying industry.

Over the past decade, the widening power of EU institutions--especially the Parliament--has attracted more and more lobbyists to Brussels. Where there were but a handful two decades ago, estimates of their numbers now range as high as 15,000. Generally facing no obligation to register (unlike their counterparts in Washington), they work under a slew of titles, from lawyers to public-affairs consultants. Brussels is also home to some 2,600 special-interest groups, from the employers' association UNICE to various consumer and environmental organizations. These opposing forces clashed like never before on the chemical regulation, with both sides accusing each other of scaremongering and doctoring the science to back their claims.

The fierce campaign, enlivened by street-theater protests, only reinforced the ...