Brussels, 22 May 2019 – Days before Europeans go to the polls, 500 candidates for the European Parliament have pledged to challenge the power of the financial lobby over European politics and institutions. Signatories include lead candidates Ska Keller and Bas Eickhout (Greens/EFA), Martin Schirdewan (GUE-NGL), Jude Kirton-Darling (S&Ds) and Pascal Canfin (LREM).
Change Finance – the civil society-led coalition behind the campaign – is delighted that so many prospective MEPs are calling time on business as usual for the financial lobby.
Shonan Kothari from Finance Watch, the independent non-profit association with a mission of making finance serve society, said:
“We are delighted with how popular the pledge has been! These candidates have listened to their voters. They know that the time for the lobby unduly influencing our politics needs to end, if we want to avoid sleepwalking into another financial crisis and to secure a financial system that works for people and planet. We welcome the signatures to date and encourage other candidates to join.”
In the pledge, candidates for the European Parliament are committing to five promises. These promises include measures that would leave the financial lobby with far less firepower, such as reducing to the minimum interactions of all members of EU institutions with financial lobbyists.
- Pledge text “Stand up to the lobby – Put the interests of people above the interests of finance”
- List of candidates for the European Parliament elections who signed the pledge
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
- Shonan Kothari on shonan@changefinance.org or +32 489 25 08 11
- Kenneth Haar on kenneth@corporateeurope.org or +45 23600631
Notes to editors
The inspiration for this initiative comes from the WHO Convention on Tobacco Control in which article 5.3 prohibits official bodies from exchanges with lobbyists from the tobacco industry.
More information on the campaign – as well as the Change Finance coalition – can be found on https://www.changefinance.org/
For our previous press release, launching this campaign (complete with additional quotes): https://www.finance-watch.org/press-release/hundreds-of-mep-candidates-pledge-to-challenge-the-financial-lobby/
