An investigation by the EU Transparency Register has revealed that Amazon Europe updated its lobbying spending figures to over €5 million back in August. The new figures were published after a civil society complaint exposed two thinks tanks and two lobbies on the US multinational’s payroll that were not properly registered.
Three organisations filed a complaint with the EU Transparency Register (EUTR), a database that lists organisations that try to influence law-making inside the EU institutions, in November 2023.
The key allegation is that the Amazon's lobbying budget seemed to not include the true extent of the US multinational’s influence operations in the EU. The complainants were Corporate Observatory Europe (CEO), LobbyControl and SOMO.
The organisations alleged that Amazon "did not report its relationship" with two think tanks: the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) and Center for European Reform (CER), with both organisations having previously listed Amazon as a funder on their websites.
Furthermore, two intermediaries declared by Amazon Europe, Leading Edge Global Communications and Telage, were also not reported in the register (under the rules, it is the job of the intermediary company to register itself). This led campaigners to believe the company’s lobbying figures "just did not add up."
Up from €2 million
"Based on an in-depth look at Amazon lobbying operations in Brussels, we noticed that Amazon declared spending 77% of its total lobby spending on lobby firms (€2,130,000 out of €2,750,000)," CEO’s researcher and campaigner Bram Vranken told The Brussels Times. "This barely left any budget for Amazon's extensive EU lobby activities targeting the EU. This got our alarm bells ringing."
The EU watchdog accepted the complaint on 21 December 2023, set up an investigation and informed Amazon of the allegations. EU transparency officials then met with the US multinational’s representatives in two separate occassions where Amazon was asked to provide more information on the issues raised by the civil society complaint.
Belgian delivery centre of e-commerce firm Amazon, Thursday 03 November 2022 in Antwerp. Credit: Belga / Jonas Roosens
Following the discussions, Amazon updated its figures. The letter sent to CEO by the EUTR, seen by The Brussels Times, confirms that the lobbying companies Telage and Leading Edge were also added to the Transparency Register on 16 January and 15 April 2024 respectively. Both included Amazon Europe in their list of clients.
In its update of 8 March 2024, Amazon Europe further declared to be a member of both think tanks CEPS and CER under the appropriate heading in its registration.
"On 30 August 2024, Amazon Europe updated the financial information in its registration, providing total estimated annual costs related to activities covered by the register of €5,000,000 - €5,499,999 for 2023, which include a relevant proportion of the fees paid to think tanks," the letter states.
While it is unclear why Amazon did not disclose its relationship with the Brussels-based think tanks, both third party organisations have impartiality disclaimers on their website.
Credit: Christian Wiediger / Unsplash
"Amazon is a member of more than 60 business associations, 17 think tanks, employs 11 full time lobbyists, organises countless events, and has a 800sqm lobby office in one of the most expensive areas in Brussels."
Moreover, since 2021, the US tech multinational ramped up its funding for a huge network of third-party organisations to echo its lobby positions. "It is a corporate donor of these think tanks," Vranken continued.
"This is key to its lobbying strategy which aims to echo its messages and set the terms of the debate through funding a wide network of third-party actors."
Sixth largest lobby force
However, Amazon claims the new figures were due to a yearly update which takes place in March and April, rather than the result of the investigation.
"Amazon engages on issues that are important to our customers, sellers, and the diverse range of businesses we operate...We update our entry in the EU Transparency Register in line with the guidelines," an Amazon spokesperson reiterated to The Brussels Times in a statement.
The Secretariat of EUTR subsequently found that Amazon Europe has "acted upon the complaint and the issues identified, giving in-depth and reasoned responses whilst also performing all the required updates of its data."
This is also not the first time that the US company’s lobbying tactics in Brussels have been challenged. In February this year, Amazon lobbyists had their access badges to the European Parliament revoked for repeatedly ignoring MEPs calls for better democratic oversight into the labour practices inside Amazon warehouses in Europe.
"It is crystal clear that Amazon has shown a complete disregard for democratic norms and EU transparency requirements. Earlier this year, Amazon's lobbying badges in the European Parliament were withdrawn for refusing to attend a parliamentary hearing. Now, it has been caught out again for failing to honestly report its lobby spending to the EU Transparency Register," Vranken said.
Either way, the updated increase of lobbying spending to over €5 million in 2023 pushes the former bookseller-turned-tech monolith into the sixth largest lobbying spender for a single company in the EU.
