[Update] Lessons from Dalli scandal: Commission needs stronger ethics and transparency rules around lobbying + Commission answer

Publication date: 
Monday, November 5, 2012
Author: 
Steering committee of ALTER-EU

The Commission has released so little information in the three weeks since the scandal around the resignation of John Dalli, the former EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, broke, that it has - in effect - raised more questions than it has provided answers.

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Self-regulation not an option for EU lobbying

Publication date: 
Monday, October 29, 2012
Author: 
Koen Roovers
Media title: 
EU Observer

Two weeks after ex-health-commissioner Dalli's resignation in what has become known as "Dalligate" - a scandal described by public health campaigners as the biggest interference of the tobacco lobby in European politics to date - Philip Sheppard's plea for self-regulation of the lobbyist profession published on 16 October appears delusional.

Commission's refusal to address Revolving Door problem triggers Ombudsman complaint of ALTER-EU groups

Publication date: 
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Author: 
Rachel Tansey (Corporate Europe Observatory)

Corporate Europe Observatory, alongside Greenpeace, Lobbycontrol and Spinwatch, have submitted a complaint about the Commission's repeated refusal to take the revolving door problem seriously. The 'revolving door' describes the movement of staff from public sector positions to lobby jobs in the private sector, or vice versa.

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Financial interests of MEP Jean Luc Dehaene

Publication date: 
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Author: 
Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE), SpinWatch, LobbyControl, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO)

In a joint letter earlier this year, FoEE together with CEO, LobbyControl, and Spinwatch, raised specific concerns about the lack of transparency over the financial interests of MEP Jean-Luc Dehaene, and the related risk of a potential conflict of interest. On 4 October, 5 months after, Mr Dehaene updated his declaration.

Transparency Register remains opaque and poorly scrutinised

Publication date: 
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Author: 
Rachel Tansey

An ALTER-EU report published in June found that one year after the Transparency Register was introduced, it fails to reflect the reality of lobbying in Brussels. Three months later, do the errors and omissions go unchallenged?

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