The scale of lobbying expenditure by major arms manufacturers in London, Brussels, and across EU member states is significant and has been increasing, especially following recent geopolitical events.

While precise figures are difficult to obtain due to weak and inconsistent transparency rules, data from various sources indicates a substantial financial commitment to influencing policy.

The Scale in the European Union and Brussels

The EU is a major target for arms lobbyists, particularly as the bloc has accelerated its defense integration and established dedicated defense funds.

• Growing Budgets: The lobbying budgets of the largest European defense companies increased by roughly 40% between 2022 and 2023. According to a recent analysis, the top ten firms spent an estimated €5.5 million to €6.7 million in 2023 on lobbying the EU institutions.

• Key Players: Major European defense contractors such as Airbus, Leonardo, Rheinmetall, and Thales have a significant presence in Brussels. They lobby individually and collectively through powerful trade associations like the Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD), which represents over 3,000 companies and has a substantial budget for lobbying.

• Focus of Lobbying: Their efforts are concentrated on shaping the rules and funding allocations of key EU instruments, such as the European Defence Fund (EDF). This fund, with an €8 billion budget for 2021-2027, is a primary target, as companies aim to secure a share of the money for research and development projects.

• The Revolving Door: The financial figures do not capture the full extent of influence. The "revolving door," where former EU officials and politicians take lucrative advisory or board positions in the defense industry, is a powerful and often untraceable form of lobbying. These individuals leverage their insider knowledge and personal networks to gain privileged access, which is a key part of the industry's influence strategy in Brussels.

The Scale in London and the UK

In the UK, the relationship between the government and the arms industry is even more deeply integrated, with influence often stemming from a close partnership rather than just overt lobbying. This makes the financial scale of lobbying harder to quantify but no less significant.

• Weak Transparency: The UK's lobbying transparency laws are widely criticized for their ineffectiveness. The Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 only applies to consultant lobbyists, not the "in-house" lobbyists employed directly by major companies. This means that a large portion of the industry's lobbying activity is not publicly registered, making an accurate estimate of expenditure impossible.

• "In-house" Lobbying: Due to this loophole, the majority of lobbying is done by in-house teams. Reports show that major arms firms have unparalleled access to the highest levels of government. Between 2012 and 2023, BAE Systems alone had more meetings with UK prime ministers and other government leaders than any other private company, averaging a meeting once every three days.

• Funding All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs): While direct political donations are rare in the UK, arms firms use other avenues to gain access and build influence. They provide significant funding to All-Party Parliamentary Groups, which are informal cross-party groups of MPs and Lords. For example, defense firms have funded the secretaries and received exclusive access to groups like the APPG for the Armed Forces.

• Financial Scope: While there's no single, public figure for lobbying expenditure, the scale can be inferred from the sheer volume of meetings and the funding of parliamentary groups. It is understood that the most significant influence is exerted not through direct financial transactions, but through a deeply embedded, "open-plan office" relationship where the industry is an institutional partner in government.

The Broader Picture in EU Member States

Across EU member states, the scale and transparency of defense lobbying vary considerably, often mirroring the national political culture and specific defense industries.

• Varying Transparency Rules: A Transparency International EU analysis of all 27 member states found a fragmented lobbying landscape. Some countries have mandatory or partially mandatory lobbying provisions, while others have no rules at all. This allows firms to exploit weak links, potentially focusing their lobbying efforts on countries with lax regulations to influence EU policy from a national level.

• National-Level Influence: The arms industry is a powerful lobby in countries with major defense companies, such as Germany (Rheinmetall), France (Thales), and Italy (Leonardo). At the national level, their lobbying is often focused on securing domestic contracts and ensuring that national defense budgets are allocated to their products.

• Driving a "War Economy": Following recent conflicts, the industry has successfully lobbied national governments to increase defense spending and to simplify procurement procedures. This has created a "gold rush" for lobbyists at both the national and EU levels. For instance, some countries have suspended their usual public procurement rules to "buy, buy, buy" weapons as fast as possible, a clear victory for industry lobbying.

In conclusion, the scale of lobbying by major arms manufacturers is significant and on the rise. While official figures from transparency registers in the EU and UK show millions of euros in spending, these numbers likely underestimate the full scale of influence due to weak disclosure rules, the "in-house" lobbying loophole in the UK, and the unquantifiable value of the "revolving door."

The industry's power lies not just in its financial expenditure but in its institutionalized access and deep integration into the policymaking and procurement processes in London and Brussels.