Ukraine spends staggering amounts of money to enforce its interests in Brussels. The Federation of Employers of Ukraine (FEU) is one of the Ukrainian lobby groups that are trying to get the European Union’s decision-makers to make the EU rules as favorable as possible for Ukrainian-owned industrial, agricultural and transport companies. But in addition to them, there are also 15 Ukrainian lobbying organizations that spend more than 50,000 euros in Brussels. Lobbying in itself is a legally well-defined activity, but in many cases it does not mean real lobbying, but bribing or buying politicians. Brussels is at the forefront of this, Arab countries have recently bought politicians for themselves (such was the case with Eva Kaili), and it is not impossible that Ukrainian companies have actually used the billions that were accounted for under the heading of Brussels lobbying.
Nine million euros from a single organization
According to LobbyFacts’ EU transparency register, the Ukrainian organization, the FEU, spent 9 million euros (about 3.5 billion forints) on lobbying in Brussels in 2024. The organization was officially registered as a lobby group in March 2023, and the lobbying activities of the EU-ban.Az Ukrainian organization focused on the following target areas:
• Integrating the Ukrainian economy into the EU market: working to bring more Ukrainian products and services to the EU market.• Influencing industrial policy and regulation: the TEU helped to develop some of the rules of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). This means that a Ukrainian organisation has helped Brussels bureaucrats to find out what is polluting and what is not. • Liberalising traffic rules: the aim is to allow Ukrainian hauliers to work more freely in the EU. The TEU is part of Business Europe, a European business alliance whose members have direct access to EU decision-makers. In 2024, the FEU participated in three high-level negotiations with the European Commission, where Ukrainian industry, the green transition and export subsidies were discussed. Unsurprisingly, the Ukrainians have successfully lobbied Brussels at the expense of European producers over the past year.
In 2023, among other things, they achieved that Ukrainian industrial products gradually comply with EU regulations, making it easier to enter the EU market. In addition, they have managed to develop regulations in cooperation with the EU that are specifically beneficial to Ukrainian industrial and agricultural enterprises. Moreover, Ukrainian lobbyists in Brussels have even managed to get customs and administrative relief for Ukrainian exporters from the EU. These measures clearly serve Ukraine’s economic interests, while at the same time creating unfavourable market conditions for their European competitors. The lobbyists of the Ukrainian Naftogaz essentially go home to Brussels, as they have met with Ursula von der Leyen’s colleagues a total of 22 times.
Seeing these hefty sums of money, the question arises: whose interests are the Brussels bureaucrats serving? Economic subsidies for Ukrainian industry often come at the expense of European producers, while a series of decision-makers are queuing up in Brussels to increase Ukraine’s economic influence within the EU. Is this also in the interest of European industry, or is it rather a political project that lobbyists in Brussels are successfully fooling?
Brussels lobbyists have long been criticized for their lack of transparency and circumvention of democratic control. According to some opinions, large business and international lobbying organisations have a decisive influence on EU legislation without European citizens having a real say. Ukrainian lobbyists represent a particularly sensitive area, as they can also conflict with the interests of businesses in EU member states.
Translated and edited by Alex Kada