THOUSANDS of lobbyists are in Brussels to bring pressure to bear on EU institutions, especially the Commission, all Councils of Ministers and EU legislation.

There are two powerful groups: the European round table of industrialists (ERT) and BusinessEurope (formerly the Confederation of European Business and founded as UNICE).

The ERT was set up in 1983 by 18 CEOs of major European transnational corporations and today has 51 companies in EU member states, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey.

ERT members include BMW, BP, Heineken, Nestle, Nokia, Rio Tinto, Siemens and ThyssenKrupp. The ERT claims to have a turnover of one trillion euros (£725 million) and to have “created” 6.6 million jobs. These are the very same firms which drafted and promoted the EU Lisbon Treaty which consists of ERT demands.

The ERT’s “vision for a competitive Europe in 2025,” among many other objectives, includes a “greater emphasis on patients’ responsibility for healthcare costs” and more competition. In other words, privatisation of everything and crushing austerity.

The ERT “vision” states that “by 2025 the ‘spaghetti bowl’ of preferential trade agreements should be converted into a global zero-tariff regime.” Peter Sullivan, a former EU commissioner, World Trade Organisation (WTO) director and ex-director of BP and Goldman Sachs stated that each ERT member “has access at the highest levels of government.”

The less powerful BusinessEurope consists of 40 national confederations of commerce and industrial employers in 34 nation-states across the continent. The CBI is a member.

Within a year of setting up the WTO in 1994 the ERT combined with transnational corporations in the US to set even higher grand objectives towards world government under the auspices of the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD).

TABD was convened by the European Commission and US Department of Commerce: “to serve as the official dialogue between American and European business leaders and US cabinet secretaries and EU commissioners.” They were behind the defeated Multilateral Agreement (MAI). TABD was the initial stage of US-EU lawmaking with the slogan: “Approved Once — Accepted Everywhere.” In other words, if transnational corporations on both sides of the Atlantic approve it, you had better accept it too.

In 2000 the Commission stated that sector by sector and “in line with TABD recommendations, we have made particular efforts in the field of standards, certification and regulatory issues.” The upshot is TTIP and the Investor-State Dispute Settlement take governments to their secret courts and fine them. TTIP was anounced in 2013 and would bolt the EU single market and US market together with dire consequences.

Prior to this the European Constitution was drafted, enshrining capitalism as the only economic system permitted in the EU. Vehemently rejected by the French and Dutch electorates, a cut-and-paste job was done to the text to put the Lisbon Treaty in place by stealth and denied national parliaments and electorates any say in the process. That is except for Ireland, which was made to vote twice in referendums. This treaty is totally in line with the ERT’s objectives along with all their EU directives, regulations and legislation.

Other gatherings and forums of CEOs, transnational corporations and companies, government ministers, EU commissioners, politicians and even trade union leaders take place. They include the annual World Economic Forum at Davos where the 2014 gathering’s theme was “The Reshaping of the World: Consequences for Society, Politics and Business.” Another is the Bilderberg Group which also meets annually and in 2009 publicly promoted Herman Van Rompuy as president of the European Council.

Illustrating the revolving door syndrome by people from commerce, banks, industry, government, various agencies and the EU is Viscount Davignon, a former EU vice commissioner, Belgian foreign minister, banker, Bilderberg chairman, ERT member and a lot of other key positions.

The ERT regularly meets a couple of days before EU summits to lobby those attending to consolidate their objectives.

Trade unions and workers do not have the same access to these powerful EU corridors and ears. The ETUC is largely funded by the EU and is part of the European Economic and Social Committee which is an advisory body of “social partners” to be examined later in the series.

• John Boyd is secretary of the Campaign against Euro-federalism for Independence and Democracy. This is the fourth article in the How the EU Operates series.