EU lobbying booms as firms press Brussels on rules

Lobbying activity in Brussels is booming as business groups press their priorities in a European Union that has become more open to easing rules on companies.

Hundreds of lobbyists, officials and lawmakers attended an end-of-summer networking event in Brussels on Wednesday, organised by 20 business groups representing sectors including cars, clean energy, digital technology and detergents. The event came a week before a major policy speech by European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.

Alain D'haese of the European Aerosol Federation said the EU needed to “listen to industry” more. Alexis van Maercke of Detergents Europe said the event was a moment for business leaders to reconnect with EU stakeholders and repeat their priorities.

Brussels is the European capital of lobbying, with as many as 30,000 lobbyists working to represent specific interests and influence public policy in a market of 450 million people. Nearly 18,000 organisations, including lobbying firms, consultancies, corporations, trade unions and civil society groups, are listed in the EU Transparency Register.

The EU has adopted a more business-friendly stance over the past two years as it worries that European firms could fall further behind China and the United States. It has rolled out measures to ease regulatory burdens, drawing concern from environmental groups.

A civil society study said this summer that the largest companies, including US-based Big Tech firms, spent around 382 million euros ($442 million) on lobbying in the past year, up 7.8% from 2025 reporting.

Lobbying remains sensitive in Brussels after the 2022 “Qatargate” scandal, when former members of the European Parliament were suspected of taking bribes from Qatar and Morocco. German Green MEP Daniel Freund said later rule changes did not go far enough and called for more transparency around areas such as restaurant invitations and sponsored travel.