A lobbying masterclass – how big business worked Brussels for new trade secrets law

Ten years after giants of the chemical industry first suggested Europe should pass new trade secrets rules, a directive is near completion.

The European parliament will vote later this year on a new law that will protect the confidential business information of both large and small corporations.

But there is growing concern that the new trade secrets directive will make it easier for businesses and states to prosecute whistleblowers and make it harder to establish the effect new products will have on people’s health and the environment.

As the legislation is poised to become law, the Bureau has analysed documents obtained by Corporate Europe Observatory through Freedom of Information that reveal the inside story of how a slick lobbying campaign can seemingly influence Brussels.