TI Position

• Lobbying activities at EU level need to be made more transparent. A register can help establish who is lobbying whom, as well as the interests and funding behind lobbying efforts.

• EU definition of ‘interest representative’ should be a broad one - including public affairs consultancies, corporate lobbyists, law firms, NGOs and think tanks.

• A mandatory joint register for the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of Ministers, in which every EU lobbyist has to register, is the best means to prevent undue influence and to strengthen EU citizens’ trust in European institutions.

• A register needs to be flanked with a strong code of conduct to which interest representatives have to sign-up to. Codes of conduct – when properly monitored and enforced – are effective instruments in preventing undue influence that can corrupt decision-making (Read TI recommendations).

More specifically, TI demands the following regarding such a mandatory EU lobbyist register. It should:

• Name every individual lobbyist.

• Detail where the person worked before and on which legislative acts lobbying is carried out.

• Disclose full financial means of all lobbyists including companies, think tanks and lawyers (with information on how much consultancies earn from clients and precise ranges of companies’ lobbying budget).

• Have clear guidelines and support on how to register (e.g. what falls under lobbying expenses).

• Display the information in a comparable way on the institutions’ websites.

• Have its data accuracy verified by standardised, effective reporting and audit mechanisms.

• Be accompanied by a strong, detailed code of conduct-

Issues

• An estimated 3000 lobbying entities have an office in Brussels and target European institutions to influence legislation, so it is crucial for transparent EU decision-making that their goals and methods are made clear.

• So far, only the European Parliament has a mandatory list of individuals holding access badges, the European Commission has established a voluntary register and the Council of Ministers currently has no register in place.

• Initiatives like the ‘European Transparency Initiative’ calling for stronger lobbying rules need to be further strengthened.

• In April 2008, the European Parliament has already set a benchmark in calling for a robust and mandatory lobbyist register including individual names and financial data of lobbyists.

• Inter-institutional Working Group (IWG) between European Commission and Parliament is making slow progress.

Press Releases

• 17 February 2009: TI urges introduction of mandatory EU lobbying register. Read more.

• 23 June 2008: The new Commission lobbyists register: A first step towards EU lobbyism transparency? Read more.

• 7 May 2008: TI urges adoption of robust EU lobbyist register. Read more.

Written Contributions/ Consultations

• June 2009: TI recommends EC to make use of its discretionary powers to urge lobbyists to register. Read TI's comments.

• February 2008: TI recommends for an extensive revision to the proposed EC Code of Conduct for Interest Representatives’, particularly in regard to a missing enforcement mechanism of the code. Download here.

Agenda

• June 2009: European Commission reviews current register for interest representatives.

• April 2009: IWG presented common website that links Commission and Parliament register

Links

• Click here to get to TI’s work on corruption in politics.