Apple met EU officials 76 times while spending $8M on Lobbying

Apple spent €7 million, or about $8.1 million, lobbying the European Union in the past year. Corporate Europe Observatory reports that this makes Apple the joint second-largest spender in the tech sector. The watchdog says tech companies now spend more on EU lobbying than Big Pharma and the car industry combined.

The same report says Apple held 76 meetings with Members of the European Parliament and senior European Commission officials. The group adds that these totals likely undercount activity because EU transparency rules track only meetings with senior figures.

Big Tech’s lobbying push

Corporate Europe Observatory says total digital industry lobbying rose from €113 million in 2023 to €151 million this year. The watchdog calls it a 33.6 percent increase and links it to efforts to soften or roll back EU digital rules.

Meta led spending at about $10 million, the report says. Apple shared second place at €7 million with Amazon and Microsoft. On meetings with Commission officials, the watchdog lists Amazon first with 43, then Microsoft with 36, Google with 35, Apple with 29, and Meta with 27.

The report also tracks outreach to the European Parliament. From January to June 2025, Big Tech logged 232 meetings with MEPs. Meta tops that list with 63, followed by Amazon with 49, Google with 47, Apple with 47, and Microsoft with 34.

Influence through coalitions

Companies also fund industry groups and think tanks that lobby on their behalf. Of the 15 biggest tech policy groups, Apple belongs to all but one. The watchdog says this network amplifies corporate positions inside EU policymaking.

Apple faces multiple EU antitrust actions and continues to fight the Digital Markets Act. The report says the company wants the DMA scrapped. The watchdog argues the spending and meeting data show how intensively the largest tech firms try to shape EU rules.