By Jane Chelliah for DiEM25.
A new report by the European Corporate Observatory shows how international financial corporations hold 98% of the seats in the expert groups that advise the European Central Bank (ECB).
In other words: a ton of lobbyists for Big Finance are perilously close to the centre of decision making at a key EU institution, while civil society organisations and academics are nowhere to be seen.
The ECB is responsible for administering the Eurozone’s monetary policy, and is one of the three entities that makes up the ‘Troika’, responsible for imposing harsh austerity on countries like Greece and Ireland. Its mission, it explains, is “to serve the people of Europe”. If you think that the corporations officially advising the ECB, like BNP Paribas and Société Générale, have the people’s interests at heart… well, think again!
The murky world of ECB decision making is nothing new to DiEM25. Since our inception, we’ve called for full transparency in decision making at the ECB and other EU institutions. More recently, we started a campaign to demand that the ECB publish vital files relating to its treatment of Greece in 2015. Nearly 30,000 people have signed the petition so far.
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Jane is a member of our London DSC and blogs at www.ambitiousmamas.co.uk on feminism, politics and race. You can also follow her on Twitter.
The original article can be found here on the DiEM25 website.
