March 2026 Data (April Edition)

Section A: The Themes Hidden in March's Lobbying Data

New EU Detergents Law Spurs Intense Sector Lobbying

The publication of Regulation (EU) 2026/405 completely updates the EU's detergents and surfactants regulation, tightening requirements on biodegradability, labeling, and oversight. This overhaul coincides directly with the marked increase in lobbying by soap, detergents, and cleaners companies, including industry giants like Unilever—which recently held meetings with Pres von der Leyen and the Direct. Gen. Industry and SMEs—as well as active involvement from Cosmetics Europe and the Value of Beauty Alliance engaging with Comm Roswall (Environment), all focused on sector priorities such as digitalization and sustainability.

📎 Regulation - 2026/405 - EN - EUR-Lex · EU Publishes New Detergent Regulation - UL Solutions

State Aid Ramped Up for Chemicals & Manufacturing During Energy Crisis

Following the Middle East crisis and spike in energy prices, the EU loosened state aid rules and rolled out targeted subsidies for energy-intensive industries. This move closely tracks increased lobbying from organizations such as Fertilizers Europe, CEFIC - European Chemical Industry Council, and Plastics Europe, with discussions centering on energy supply impacts and competitiveness—including meetings with Direct. Gen. Energy and Housing and EVP Ribera Rodriguez—during March 2026.

📎 EU action to address the energy crisis · Brussels Times METSAF coverage · Spring 2026 Economic Forecast, EC

EU Accelerates Defence Manufacturing Amid Lobbying Surge

A sharp uptick in lobbying by air and spacecraft manufacturers, and weapons and ammunition entities—including recent meetings with Patria Oyj, KNDS France, and Leonardo S.p.A. engaging with Comm Kubilius (Defence and Space), as well as Planet Labs consulting the Direct. Gen. Defence and Space—coincides with the EU’s implementation of ASAP and EDIP initiatives in early 2026. Legislative simplifications and generous funding for defence industrial capacity have prompted direct engagement between sector representatives and EU officials on fast permitting and cross-border defence supply chains, with the Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe meeting the Direct. Gen. Industry and SMEs to advance these priorities.

📎 Commission overview - ASAP · EU Perspectives on EDIP

Section B: Lobbying Activity by Industry

This section compares, by industry, the lobbying activity with the European Commission last month to its historical average.

Industry Lobbying Activity, March 2026

In March 2026, 10 industries from this sector were active in lobbying meetings with the European Commission, led by Basic chemicals and plastics.

Industries running notably above their historical average this month include Air and Spacecraft Manufacturing, Soap, detergents and cleaners, Pharmaceutical preparations, R&D: Natural Sciences & Eng., and Basic chemicals and plastics.

On the quieter side, Basic iron, steel and ferro-alloys and Electronic Components and Boards saw notably less lobbying activity than their historical average.

Section C: Lobbying by Industry for the Past Year

To contextualize Section B, this chart shows the residual trajectory of the same top industries from Section B over the past 12 months — the deviation from what would be expected after accounting for seasonal patterns and the overall trend. Persistent above-zero values indicate sustained over-activity; persistent below-zero values indicate sustained quiet periods.

Industry Lobbying Residuals, March 2026

This chart shows the 10 industries in this sector with the largest deviations from expected lobbying activity in March 2026. Positive values run above their seasonal trend, negative values below.

R&D: Natural Sciences & Eng., Air and Spacecraft Manufacturing, Pharmaceutical preparations, Basic chemicals and plastics, and Weapons and Ammunition saw lobbying notably above expected levels this month.

Basic iron, steel and ferro-alloys, Communication Equipment, Electronic Components and Boards, Precious and non-ferrous metals, and Soap, detergents and cleaners saw lobbying notably below expected levels this month.

Section D: Lobbying Activity by Organization

In this section, we see the organizations with the most unusual lobbying behavior last month, defined by either unusually high or unusually low lobbying activity.

Organization Lobbying Activity, March 2026

In March 2026, 223 organizations from this sector took part in 284 lobbying meetings with the European Commission.

The organizations with the most notable increases in lobbying activity this month include Svaz prumyslu a dopravy CR, Confederazione Generale dell'Industria Italiana, ASD-Eurospace, Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie e.V., and Unilever.

On the quieter side, ArcelorMittal saw notably less lobbying activity than usual.

New to the sector's lobbying records this month: European Metals, Synopsys, Baden-Wurttembergischer Industrie- und Handelskammertag e.V., WE Soda Ltd, and Sagemcom Topco.

Section E: Lobbying of Government Institutions in the Past Month

Every lobbying meeting takes place with one of two types of European Commission body: a Commissioner's cabinet (political staff) or a Directorate-General (the civil service). This section shows the organisation-to-institution pairings with the most unusual lobbying activity last month, defined by the largest absolute difference between this month's meeting count and the pair's 12-month rolling average.

Lobbying of Commission Institutions, March 2026 vs 12-Month Avg

In March 2026, 223 organisations from this sector met with 45 Commission bodies across 284 meetings — split across 24 Commissioner cabinets and 21 Directorates-General.

Notable increases in lobbying activity this month include THALES with EVP Virkkunen (Digital Services), Confederazione Generale dell'Industria Italiana with Comm Roswall (Environment), FuelsEurope with Direct. Gen. Energy and Housing, Diehl Stiftung & Co. KG with Comm Kubilius (Defence and Space), and Nokia with Direct. Gen. Tech Sovereignty.

Section F: Organization Lobbying by Subject in the Past Month

This section shows the organisation-to-subject pairings with the most unusual lobbying activity last month. Subjects are classified from each meeting's title text into one of 19 EU policy areas. A meeting covering multiple topics counts toward each of them.

Lobbying by Subject, March 2026 vs 12-Month Avg

In March 2026, 216 organisations from this sector lobbied on 16 policy topics across 284 meetings. Meetings may touch multiple topics, so subject totals can exceed total meetings.

Topics with notably elevated lobbying activity this month include Confederazione Generale dell'Industria Italiana on Manufacturing, Value of Beauty Alliance on Environment, Unilever on Agri-Food, Unilever on Single Market, and Boeing Belgium SRL on Foreign Affairs.

Section G: Most-Lobbied Officials

This section lists the most-frequent lobbying touchpoints between this sector's organisations and individual European Commission officials last month, compared to each pairing's average over the past year.

Most-Lobbied Officials, March 2026

In March 2026, 198 European Commission officials took part in 284 meetings with this sector's lobbyists.

The most-frequent meetings this month were THALES and Henna Virkkunen at EVP Virkkunen (Digital Services), Confederazione Generale dell'Industria Italiana and Jessika Roswall + 1 other at Comm Roswall (Environment), Diehl Stiftung & Co. KG and Anne Fort at Comm Kubilius (Defence and Space), Nokia and Renate Nikolay at Direct. Gen. Tech Sovereignty, and BASF SE and Olivia Gippner at Comm Hoekstra (Climate).

Most activity came from Cabinet members (235 meetings), followed by Head of Unit (88) and Commissioner (60).