Corporate Europe Observatory
Brussels-based investigative NGO that tracks corporate lobbying influence on EU legislation.
Last refreshed: 17 May 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Has big tech lobbying shaped the AI Act's enforcement calendar in its own favour?
Timeline for Corporate Europe Observatory
AI Omnibus deal splits enforcement into two speeds
European Tech Sovereignty- What does Corporate Europe Observatory investigate?
- Corporate Europe Observatory investigates and exposes corporate lobbying influence on European Union policy-making. It tracks revolving-door appointments, undisclosed meetings, and conflicts of interest involving EU officials and industry lobbyists.Source: corporateeurope.org
- Why did Corporate Europe Observatory criticise Aura Salla's AI Act role?
- Corporate Europe Observatory raised conflict-of-interest concerns about Aura Salla, the MEP appointed as rapporteur on the AI Omnibus, because her husband holds a senior AI policy position at Meta, a company directly regulated by the legislation she was drafting.Source: event
- How does Corporate Europe Observatory get its funding?
- Corporate Europe Observatory is funded by foundations and individual donors. It does not accept funding from corporate sources, which it says is necessary to maintain credibility in its investigations of corporate influence on EU policy.Source: corporateeurope.org
Background
Corporate Europe Observatory is a Brussels-based non-profit research and advocacy organisation that investigates and exposes corporate lobbying influence on European Union policy-making. Founded in 1997, CEO monitors the European Commission, European Parliament, and Council for evidence that industry lobbying shapes regulatory outcomes in ways that harm the public interest. In 2026, CEO was among the primary voices raising concerns about the appointment of Finnish MEP Aura Salla as rapporteur for the AI Act's general-purpose AI provisions, documenting her prior career at Nokia's EU government affairs division and arguing that her appointment represented a conflict of interest in an AI regulation process heavily lobbied by tech companies .
CEO operates through investigative research, freedom-of-information requests, and Coalition work with allied civil-society organisations including LobbyControl (Germany), Spinwatch (UK), and the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU). Its signature work includes the Corporate Capture reports that map influence flows from industry associations into legislative text. CEO played a significant role in the campaign that eventually produced the EU Lobbying Transparency Register.
In the European tech sovereignty context, CEO's function is a permanent check on the capture of digital regulation — particularly the AI Act, DMA, and Data Act — by large technology companies. Its investigations reach EU Observer, Politico Europe, and international press, and its research is cited in European Parliament committee debates. When CEO flags a lobbying influence concern, it typically reflects broader civil-society anxiety about the direction of EU digital regulation.