PRESS RELEASE : Revealed: the CBI receives millions from the EU and public bodies

The press release issued by Vote Leave on 3 November 2015.

New research by Vote Leave reveals that the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) received nearly £1 million from the European Commission between 2009 and 2015 – and that the EU is the CBI’s single largest source of public sector funds, which total more than £7 million.

The research – based on hundreds of Freedom of Information Act requests – reveals that:

▪ Between 2009 and 2015, the CBI received £955,484 from the European Commission. This equates to 12% of the CBI’s retained income in the same period.

▪ 95 public bodies were members of the CBI during the period 2009–15, providing the CBI with £5,172,204 in membership fees from the public sector rather than industry.

▪ Since 2009, the CBI has received £7,031,797 from 140 taxpayer-funded public sector bodies in membership fees, conference fees or other payments. This raises serious questions about how far the CBI is truly the ‘voice of business’.

▪ If the CBI continues with its plans to campaign for the UK to remain in the EU, many of these public institutions will have to resign from the CBI.

Commenting, Rob Oxley said:

“The CBI is funded by the EU, so it is no surprise that it wants to campaign for the UK to stay in the EU regardless of whether there is any reform or not.

The CBI leadership has consistently got it wrong on the EU, from its disastrous campaign for us to join the euro to its undermining of the case for an EU referendum.

The CBI leadership wants to stay in the EU at all costs, yet with so much public sector and European Commission funding it is deeply compromised. We think its public sector members should resign if the CBI decides to campaign for the UK to stay in the EU.”