expert groups

According to research published last month, industry representatives dominate some of the European Commission’s Expert Groups. The Commission claims that 20 per cent of members came from industry, but even if the 20 per cent figure is accurate – and it is impossible to know – it is inexcusable. What is more, the Commission is ignoring the fundamental point.

The European Commission has said it will publish a list of individual experts who sit on its advisory groups by the summer, after transparency campaigners yesterday (25 March) presented a report accusing the EU executive of bias in favour of industry.

The European Commission depends too heavily on input from corporate lobbyists, giving companies a dominant role in the union's legislative process, according to a new study published today.

Industry lobbyists are dominating the European law-making process, campaigners warned today with the publication of a new report analysing the membership of a number of the European Commission’s Expert Groups. What is more, the Commission is not being transparent about membership of these groups researchers say, preventing public accountability.

Alter-EU accuse la Commission de se laisser guider par les industriels. Les groupes d'experts qui la conseillent sont dominés par les milieux industriels. Une porte-parole réfute ces accusations et promet plus de transparence.

The names of thousands of industry executives advising the European Commission on key policies will be published within months, the Brussels executive has pledged. The business people, along with academics, government officials and non-government organisations, form “expert groups”. They sit in ad hoc committees of advisers that have mushroomed in recent years as the Commission has moved into complex areas such as climate change and biotechnology.

BRUSSELS, 3 May 2006 - The Commission’s proposals for the new European Transparency Initiative (ETI) fail to deliver transparency around the role of lobbying in EU decision-making and will not improve public trust in the EU institutions, the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU) charged today. ALTER-EU will continue to push for a meaningful transparency system during the consultation period which begins with this Green Paper, and urges the Commission to make more effective proposals soon.