EU watchdog probes Commission's secret business consultations

The European Ombudsman has opened a formal inquiry into the European Commission’s use of closed-door meetings with corporate lobbyists that are currently exempt from the bloc’s transparency rules. Ombudswoman Teresa Anjinho announced the probe on 8 July, requesting internal documentation and a written explanation from the commission.

The investigation targets a consultation tool known as "Reality Checks," which the commission launched alongside its broader "omnibus" simplification and deregulation drive. According to the commission’s operational guidance, these sessions are organized in response to direct requests from the EU executive for data and expertise. The stated goal is to gather input from business "practitioners" to ensure policy objectives are achieved while keeping administrative burdens to a minimum.

Because the commission classifies these gatherings as technical rather than political, it has exempted them from the standard transparency requirements that apply to other official meetings with lobbyists. This structural exemption means the public, civil society groups, and competing stakeholders have no way of knowing who is advising the commission on new rules until a formal legislative proposal is published.

Campaigners argue this creates a hidden channel for industry to steer regulation in its favour. "In reality they are highly political, in that they help guide the commission on controversial issues," said Kenneth Haar of the lobby watchdog Corporate Europe Observatory, which filed the April complaint. Haar warned that the commission can "plan far reaching deregulation with the very industries concerned, and no one will know about it until the proposal is published."

For businesses, these sessions offer a significant opportunity to directly influence the regulatory environment before other economic actors can weigh in. An April investigation by Corporate Europe Observatory, relying on participant lists obtained through access-to-documents requests, found that companies and business associations accounted for 80 to 100 percent of attendees across various commission departments. The closed-door discussions covered sensitive economic areas including artificial intelligence, steel, defence and free trade.

The outcome of the Ombudsman’s inquiry carries direct implications for European markets. If the watchdog forces the commission to apply standard transparency rules to Reality Checks, companies will lose a privileged avenue for shaping the EU's deregulation agenda. If the exemption stands, future rules governing critical technologies and strategic industries could continue to be drafted behind closed doors with minimal public scrutiny.