Amazon lobbyists face ban from European Parliament

BRUSSELS — Amazon lobbyists are set to be banned from the European Parliament.

The institution's quaestors today authorized the Parliament's secretary-general to withdraw the tech company's 14 entry badges, Romanian Renew lawmaker Dragoş Pîslaru told POLITICO. Quaestor and Green lawmaker Marcel Kolaja confirmed the decision.

The move had been requested by the Parliament's employment committee — which Pîslaru chairs — after the company's representatives refused to participate in a dialog to address labor concerns with lawmakers on more than one occasion.

"The matter can be reconsidered if Amazon shows [a] willingness to cooperate, in particular at the request of the employment committee," Pîslaru said, a point Kolaja confirmed was included in the note presented at the quaestors' meeting.

Amazon representatives were invited to attend an employment committee hearing on "Working Conditions in Amazon Warehouses" on Jan. 23, but did not show up, claiming that the notice of about a month had been too short. The committee wrote a letter to Parliament President Roberta Metsola asking that the company's lobbyists be denied access to the institution.

“It is unreasonable for members to be lobbied by Amazon while at the same time being deprived of the right to represent the interests of European citizens and inquire about claims of breaches of fundamental rights enshrined in EU Treaties and EU labor laws,” the letter said.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.