Amazon lobbyists will be banned from the European Parliament after several MEPs called for action.
The MEPs claimed that Amazon does not cooperate with Parliament on issues related to the working conditions and rights of its employees.
This comes at a time when Amazon and other tech giants like Microsoft are receiving additional scrutiny from the EU over their business practices.
18.8 million euros spent on lobbying since 2013
Amazon has faced growing criticism over working conditions at its European sites and its unfriendly approach to unionization. Since 2021, the e-commerce giant has missed three meetings with the employment and social affairs committee, with the most recent meeting missed due to “short notice,” according to a letter from the committee to Robert Metsola, speaker of parliament. of the EU.
“It is unreasonable for Amazon to pressure members and at the same time deprive them of the right to represent the interests of European citizens and investigate allegations of violations of fundamental rights enshrined in EU treaties and labor laws,” the letter said. .
In response to the decision, Amazon said: “We are very disappointed with this decision, as we want to constructively engage with policymakers. As a company that has been active in the EU for more than 25 years and now has more than 150,000 permanent employees here, we take our commitment to policymakers in Brussels and across Europe very seriously.”
Since 2013, Amazon has spent around €18.8 million on lobbying campaigns at EU institutions, according to the nonprofit research group Corporate Europe Observatory. “Amazon's undemocratic behavior will not be tolerated,” Oliver Roethig, regional secretary of the European union group UNI Europa, said in response to the ban.
Through FOOT
