The Government’s decision to postpone “sine die” the eco-toll for heavy goods vehicles has caused chatter among both right-wing and left-wing supporters.
A victory for the transporter lobby is the most commonly cited reason for explaining the shelving of a tax, probably poorly designed, but whose goal was to make those who profit from the roads for commercial activities contribute. This is what the Anglo-Saxons call the “tax of scope.”
However, as is well known, for several decades, direct democracy (that of the voters) has been accompanied in parallel by the representation of interests, more simply called ‘lobbying.’
And, given their capacity for influence – and sometimes mischief – one is right to wonder if these lobbyists have not confiscated the will of the citizens.
It is enough to read the list of certain companies’ ‘investments’ at the European level to understand well that Europe is not the one voted for in elections but rather the one that results from the interventions of the famous ‘invisible hand,’ but very present and especially effective.
And behold, the general interest becomes like… The Phoenix!
Happy reading …
CEMAFROID SNC France 5,000,000 – 5,250,000 €
Philip Morris International Inc. Switzerland 5,000,000 – 5,250,000 €
ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical Belgium 4,750,000 – 5,000,000 €
Microsoft Corporation United States 4,500,000 – 4,750,000 €
Shell Companies Netherlands 4,250,000 – 4,500,000 €
Siemens AG Germany 4,355,792 €
GDF SUEZ France 3,750,000 – 4,000,000 €
General Electric Company United States 3,250,000 – 3,500,000 €
ASTRAMATIC, S.A.U. Spain 3,000,000 – 3,250,000 €
Huawei Technologies China 3,000,000 €
Bayer AG Germany 2,760,000 €
TOTAL S.A. France 2,500,000 – 2,750,000 €
Daimler Aktiengesellschaft Germany 2,618,000 €
EVONIK INDUSTRIES AG Germany 2,250,000 – 2,500,000 €
Telefonica, S.A. Spain 2,439,500 €
BASF SE Germany 2,400,000 €
ACCIONA INFRAESTRUCTURAS, S.A Spain 2,000,000 – 2,250,000 €
ELECTRICITE DE FRANCE France 2,000,000 – 2,250,000 €
E.ON SE Germany 2,200,000 €
Deutsche Post DHL Germany 2,140,657 €
Amway Belgium 1,750,000 – 2,000,000 €
Borealis AG Austria 1,750,000 – 2,000,000 €
GRUPPO ALCUNI SRL Italy 1,750,000 – 2,000,000 €
Intel Corporation United States 1,750,000 – 2,000,000 €
RWE AG Germany 2,000,000 €
