EU lawmakers to Amazon lobbyists: ‘We want you out of Parliament’
Lobbyists from US tech giant Amazon should have their access badges to the European Parliament revoked “until the company’s management is willing to engage in genuine dialogue with the Parliament,” members of the Parliament’s employment committee have written in a letter to the institution’s president, Roberta Metsola.
The letter, which has been seen by Euractiv but had yet to be sent, lists a series of incidents in which the US online retail behemoth did not heed the Employment & Social Affairs (EMPL) Committee’s requests for hearings and exchange of views.
The letter is expected to be forwarded to Metsola’s office on Monday or Tuesday (5-6 February), according to two sources close to the matter. By the time this article was published, Amazon had not replied to Euractiv’s request for comments.
The EMPL Committee President, Dragos Pîslaru, has agreed to sign the letter, his office told Euractiv.
“[I]n light of Amazon’s repeated refusal to attend EMPL hearings, we would like to request that appropriate measures be put in place to withdraw access badges to the European Parliament’s premises for registered Amazon’s interest representatives,” the letter reads.
On 23 January, EMPL coordinators – a small number of lawmakers who represent the interest of their parliamentary groups in the Committee – had already confimed their willingness to withdraw Amazon’s access badges, and petition Metsola’s office.
Every lobby group in the EU, or company’s interest representative, is entitled to making their voices heard within Parliamentary premises as long as they are registered in the Parliament’s ‘Transparency Register’.
In turn, they receive access badges, which allows them to physically enter the premises.
Under the lawmakers’ request, the withdrawal of Amazon’s access badges does not alter the company’s presence on the register, but affects their access to Parliament buildings.
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The letter cites three instances during which Amazon officials were unwilling to play ball with EMPL hearing requests.
In May 2021, the letter reads, Amazon declined to take part in a hearing titled “Amazon attacks on fundamental workers’ rights and freedoms: freedom of assembly and association, and the right to collective bargain and action”.
This came after media revelations that the US platform hinted to potential monitoring of Amazon’s workers, “which might have been in breach of European labour, data and privacy laws,” the document reads.
Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos was invited but instead, the tech company shared their views in written format, with no senior representatives to fill in for Bezos.
Another hiccup took place in December 2023, when an EMPL lawmakers’ mission to Amazon facilities in Germany and Poland was cancelled. The visit, looking to give MEPs a clearer understanding of day-to-day life in Amazon warehouses, fell through unexpectedly after “the company […] communicated its inability to facilitate the visit as planned”.
Finally, on 23 January, Amazon again allegedly chose not to engage in an exchange of views on “’working conditions in Amazon warehouses’, […] despite providing ample notice and necessary means for remote participation”.
“By refusing to engage in an open dialogue with the European Parliament, Amazon not only demonstrates disrespect for our institution but also obstructs a democratic scrutiny process,” the letter claims.
Under the Rules of procedures, access badges can be revoked when an interested party does not comply with committee requests to take part in hearings without sufficient justification.
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