Kangaroo Group

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Background

Set up in 1979, the Kangaroo Group promotes free trade across the European Union and brings together an impressive roster of politicians, academics and business people.[1]

In 1989 its then director Pamela Entwistle, in a letter to British American Tobacco asking for support described its operations as:

...works both in the limelight and also behind the scenes; the limelight by publishing a bi-monthly newspaper Kangaroo News, and behind the scenes discussing Internal Market affairs with Government officials and National ministers, with the European Commission and in the Parliament. It has the one aim to function as a multi-party, multi-national platform to mobilise public and specialist opinion behind the completion of the Internal Market.[2]

Corporate membership at that time cost £3,000 a year.[3]

It continues to promote business interests to MEPs and EU civil servants through a mixture of corporate gatherings and information campaigns.[4]

Criticisms

Dr Monica Horten, a journalist and expert on European internet and copyright policy, has described the Kangaroo Group as a "one of a number of groups which provide extra-curricula contact between corporate industry lobbyists and MEPs".[5]

A letter sent in 2011 from the Corporate Europe Observatory questioned the Kangaroo Group's use of EU Parliament facilities on behalf of corporate benefactors.[6]

Tobacco Links

Its tobacco industry members are listed as Barry Ronan from BAT, Mario Muller from the Confederation of European Community Cigarette Manufacturers, Istvan Komoroczki from Imperial Tobacco, Kristof Doms from Philip Morris and Paolo Bochicchio from JT International.[7]

One area the Kangaroo Group looks at is smuggling, contraband and general threats to corporate property rights. As part of this it hosted a forum in 2011 on how to tackle tobacco smuggling.[8] The forum promoted a booklet The Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products and How to Tackle it[9] published by the International Tax and Investment Center (ITIC).[10][9]

It was written by Elizabeth Allen who spent 35 years with HM Revenue and Customs, mainly on tobacco issues.[9]

People

The Board Of The Kangaroo Group

Elected on 19 June 2013 Michael Gahler MEP/EPP, President | Karl von Wogau, Secretary General | Ioan Mircea Pascu MEP/S&D, Vice-Chairman | Olivier Jehin, Communications Officer | Jean Naslin, Treasurer | Josepha von Metternich, Director

The Members Of The Kangaroo Group 2015

Honorary Members

Valery Giscard D'estaing | Bertel Haarder | Mario Monti | Ana Palacio | Alain Pompidou

Members Of The European Parliament

  • Burkhard Balz MEP/Epp, Member Of The Committee On Economic And Monetary Affairs, Germany
  • Anna Maria Corazza Bildt MEP/Epp, Member Of The Committee On The Internal Market And Consumer Protection, Sweden
  • Richard Corbett MEP/S&D, Member Of The Committee On Constitutional Affairs, United Kingdom
  • Herbert Dorfmann MEP/Epp, Member Of The Committee On Agriculture And Rural Development, Italy
  • Frank Engel MEP/Epp, Member Of The Committee On Civil Liberties, Justice And Home Affairs, Luxemburg
  • Doru-Claudian Frunzulica MEP/S&D]], Member Of The Committee On Development, Rumania
  • Michael Gahler MEP/Epp, Member Of The Committee On Foreign Affairs, Member Of The Subcommittee On Security And Defence, Germany
  • Ana Gomes MEP/S&D, Member Of The Sub-Committee On Security And Defence And The Committee On Civil Liberties, Portugal
  • Barbara Kappel MEP/Ni, Member Of The Committee On Industry, Research And Energy, Austria
  • Othmar Karas MEP/Epp, Member Of The Committee On Economic And Monetary Affairs, Austria
  • Alain Lamassoure MEP/EPP, Member Of The Committee On Economic And Monetary Affairs, France
  • Werner Langen MEP/EPP, Member Of The Committee On Economic And Monetary Affairs, Germany
  • Ioan Mircea Pascu, MEP/S&D, Vice-Chair Of The Committee On Foreign Affairs, Rumania
  • Paul Rübig MEP/Epp, Member Of The Committee On Industry, Research And Energy, Member Of The Committee On Budgetary Control, Austria
  • Andreas Schwab MEP/Epp, Member Of The Committee On The Internal Market And Consumer Protection, Germany
  • Rainer Wieland MEP/Epp, Vice-President Of The European Parliament]], Member Of The Committee On Development And The Committee On Constitutional Affairs, Germany
  • Cecilia Wikström MEP/Alde, Chairwoman Of The Committee On Petitions]], Member Of The Committee On Civil Liberties]], Justice And Home Affairs, Sweden

Members From Other Institutions, Academia And Experts

Members From Industry, Services And Trade

Notes

  1. ↑ Kangaroo Group, Goals, Kangaroo Group website, Accessed December 2011
  2. ↑ BAT, Letter from Pamela Entwistle to PM Bingham, 27 October 1989
  3. ↑ BAT, Corporate Membership Scheme of the Kangaroo Group, 27 October 1989
  4. ↑ Kangaroo Group, Events, Kangaroo Group website, Accessed December 2011
  5. ↑ iptegrity.com, EU Parliament’s Kangaroo Group hops onto ACTA, iptegrity.com, 10 October 2011
  6. ↑ Corporate Europe, Letter from Olivier Hoedeman to College of Quaestors, 21 September 2011
  7. ↑ Kangaroo Group, Members, Kangaroo Group website, Accessed December 2011
  8. ↑ Kangaroo Group, The Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products and How to Tackle it, 26 May 2011
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 ITIC, The Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products and How to Tackle it, 19 April 2011
  10. ↑ The ITIC describes itself as:
    a non-profit research and education foundation. ITIC serves as a clearing house for information on best practices in taxation and investment policy, and as a training center to transfer such know how to improve the investment climates of transition and developing countries, thereby spurring formation and development of business and economic prosperity.
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