May 2026 Data (June Edition)

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

New EU Guidance on Packaging Waste Spurs Compliance Lobbying

The publication of updated EU guidance on the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) in June 2026 coincides with a surge in lobbying by management consultancy and legal services organisations such as Asociatia Consultantilor in Management din Romania AMCOR and Amcor, particularly in meetings with Comm Roswall (Environment). This regulation’s expanded obligations for recyclability, toxicity limits, and labelling are prompting advisory firms to help clients interpret and implement compliance measures across Member States.

📎 European Commission Official Journal Guidance, 10 June 2026 · PRODlaw.eu, March 2026

Single Market Simplification Deal Draws Increased Business Group Activity

A high volume of lobbying meetings in May 2026 closely follows the EU’s provisional agreement on the Omnibus IV package, which aims to digitalise reporting requirements and ease scaling for 'small mid-cap' companies. Business associations and consultancies such as the European Round Table for Industry, Deutsches Aktieninstitut, KPMG International Limited, and the Federation of Small Businesses, engaging with the Directorate-General Secretariat-General and Directorate-General Financial Services, are actively engaging to shape and understand how these simplifications will affect cross-border operations and compliance workloads.

ESG Ratings Regulation Drives Legal and Consultancy Engagements

The roll-out of the EU’s ESG Ratings Regulation, with final technical standards adopted in late May 2026 by Direct. Gen. Financial Services, comes amid intensified advice-seeking from the management consultancy and legal services sector, including organisations such as EcoVadis and Forvis Mazars S.p.A. Many are interpreting new disclosure rules and client obligations, as sustainability reporting providers and corporates—such as those represented by VERBOND VAN BELGISCHE ONDERNEMINGEN / FEDERATION DES ENTREPRISES DE BELGIQUE—prepare for direct supervision and harmonised EU standards in July.

📎 European Commission ESG Ratings Regulation Updates, 26 May 2026 · Stibbe, June 2026

Transatlantic Business Groups Mobilise on Digital and Single Market Policy

Entities such as the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union, and the International Chamber of Commerce logged an unusually high number of meetings in May 2026 with Commission interlocutors including Comm Sefcovic and EVP Virkkunen, focusing on digital policy and Single Market rules. This coincides with European Commission initiatives on market simplification and digital transformation, with global companies seeking clarity on trade impacts and regulatory adaptation.

📎 Lobbying on Single Market - Brussels (June 2026 edition)

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, May 2026

In May 2026, 8 industries from this sector were active in lobbying meetings with the European Commission, led by Legal Services.

Industries running notably above their historical average this month include Management Consultancy, Intellectual Property Leasing, and Head Offices.

On the quieter side, State and Policy Administration, Conventions & Trade Shows, Accounting and Tax Consultancy, and Legal Services 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, May 2026

This chart shows the 8 industries in this sector with the largest deviations from expected lobbying activity in May 2026. Positive values run above their seasonal trend, negative values below.

Accounting and Tax Consultancy, State and Policy Administration, Conventions & Trade Shows, Legal Services, and Intellectual Property Leasing 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, May 2026

In May 2026, 65 organizations from this sector took part in 88 lobbying meetings with the European Commission.

The organizations with the most notable increases in lobbying activity this month include Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, European Tech Alliance, CEOE - Confederacion Espanola de Organizaciones Empresariales, Sisvel International S.A., and Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie e.V..

On the quieter side, Confederation of Finnish Industries EK, SMEunited aisbl, Bureau Europeen des Unions de Consommateurs, EUROCHAMBRES - Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and Wirtschaftskammer Osterreich saw notably less lobbying activity than usual.

New to the sector's lobbying records this month: DIEThNES DIAPhANEIA ELLAS, Agriconsulting Europe SA, Hospitality Ulster, Orde van Vlaamse Balies, and CSGM a.s..

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, May 2026 vs 12-Month Avg

In May 2026, 65 organisations from this sector met with 34 Commission bodies across 88 meetings — split across 16 Commissioner cabinets and 18 Directorates-General.

Notable increases in lobbying activity this month include Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie e.V. with Comm Dombrovskis (Statistics) and ClientEarth AISBL with Direct. Gen. Fisheries and Oceans.

On the quieter side, BUSINESSEUROPE with Direct. Gen. Trade, BUSINESSEUROPE with Direct. Gen. Industry and SMEs, and European Committee for Standardization with Direct. Gen. Industry and SMEs saw notably less lobbying activity than their historical average.

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, May 2026 vs 12-Month Avg

In May 2026, 62 organisations from this sector lobbied on 17 policy topics across 88 meetings. Meetings may touch multiple topics, so subject totals can exceed total meetings.

Topics with notably elevated lobbying activity this month include European Tech Alliance on ICT & Cybersecurity, Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America on Single Market, Sisvel International S.A. on ICT & Cybersecurity, Sisvel International S.A. on Single Market, and Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America on ICT & Cybersecurity.

On the quieter side, BUSINESSEUROPE on Foreign Affairs and Bureau Europeen des Unions de Consommateurs on Single Market saw notably less lobbying activity than their historical average.

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, May 2026

In May 2026, 89 European Commission officials took part in 88 meetings with this sector's lobbyists.

The most-frequent meetings this month were Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie e.V. and Michael Hager at Comm Dombrovskis (Statistics), Finland Chamber of Commerce (Keskuskauppakamari) and Henna Virkkunen + 1 other at EVP Virkkunen (Digital Services), SMEunited aisbl and Ursula von der Leyen at Pres von der Leyen, The Danish Chamber of Commerce and Dan Jorgensen at Comm Jorgensen (Energy and Housing), and Confederation of Swedish Enterprise and Jessika Roswall at Comm Roswall (Environment).

Most activity came from Cabinet members (53 meetings), followed by Head of Unit (37) and Commissioner (10).