As American corporations have "discovered that Brussels is the source of an increasingly large volume of legislation, ranging from environmental
and labour standards to labelling requirements and new rules for the
financial services industry," more and more lobbyists are setting up shop there. The Financial Times writes, "The dramatic increase in US lobbying activity in recent years means that companies such as Microsoft [3], Intel [4], Procter & Gamble [5], General Electric [6] and General Motors [7] have already opened offices in Brussels to lobby the Commission, the European parliament and the Council of Ministers - the three institutions that call the shots in the EU capital." According to the Times, U.S. firms have learned from watching the EU block the GE/Honeywell merger to not "make the mistake of ignoring the EU's top competition regulator." Even Wal-Mart [8] CEO Lee Scott is making yearly trips to meet with key EU commissioners to discuss services industry and food labeling issues.