Stakeholder positions: who pushes, who resists
Who wants stronger rules on added sugars, and who works to slow them down? We place an organisation on this page only on the basis of its own public statements, documents or register entries, linked below.
Calling for stronger rules
| Organisation | Type | What they call for | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| WHO Regional Office for Europe | UN agency | Taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, strongly recommended in WHO’s 2024 guideline on fiscal policies. | WHO/Europe, 2025 |
| BEUC, the European Consumer Organisation | Consumer organisation | Binding EU rules on food marketing to children, instead of industry self-regulation. | FoodNavigator, 2021 |
| European Heart Network | Health NGO network | Stronger rules than voluntary codes on marketing to children in the revision of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive. | EHN, April 2026 |
| European Public Health Alliance | Public health alliance | No television advertising for unhealthy food and alcohol during hours when many children are watching. | EPHA, 2016 |
| European Society of Cardiology | Medical society | A small tax on unhealthy foods as part of the EU’s cardiovascular health plan. | ESC |
| European Social Insurance Platform | Social security bodies | Mandatory nutrition labelling and binding reformulation targets. | ESIP |
Resisting rules or favouring voluntary action
| Organisation | Type | What they say or do | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe | EU soft drinks association | Presents its voluntary sugar-reduction commitments as the way forward and lists national soft drinks taxes among the barriers to investment. | UNESDA report, July 2026 |
| CEFS, European sugar manufacturers | EU sugar industry association | With CIBE, the beet growers’ association, publicly contested an EU-funded research workshop that modelled a sugar tax (April 2026). | CEFS and CIBE, April 2026 |
| Lactalis | Dairy and infant food company | Challenged Nutri-Score in a case that France’s Council of State referred to the EU Court of Justice in June 2026. | Ingredients Network |
Lobbying footprint
These figures are declared by the organisations themselves in public registers.
| Organisation | What the registers show | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The Coca-Cola Company | EU lobbying budget of €500,000 to €599,999 (2023) and 21 high-level meetings with the European Commission. Consultancies declared: Covington & Burling, Dentons Global Advisors, ZN Consulting. | LobbyFacts |
| Danone | EU lobbying budget of €400,000 to €499,999 (2023) and 30 high-level meetings with the European Commission. | LobbyFacts |
| CEEREAL, European breakfast cereal association | EU lobbying budget of €25,000 to €49,999 (2022). | LobbyFacts |
| Südzucker | Hired the consultancy EUTOP to lobby the German federal government for the “protection of German sugar production” (April 2026). | Bundestag lobby register |
Right of reply
Is your organisation missing, or has its position changed? Send us your public statement at contact@sugarwatcheurope.org. We will review it and update this page.
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