Greater lobbying transparency

At 23 June, 2011 the European Parliament and European Commission launched the so-called “Transparency Register”, the new joint Commission and Parliament register of interest representatives in the EU. As the new register brought a number of improvements, ALTER-EU welcomed it, although it stressed from the outset that several fundamental flaws remain. These should be fixed as soon as possible.

Crucial improvements include:

• Mandatory registration should remain the long-term goal of the Commission and Parliament. Preparations for a transition, at least by 2015, should start now;
• Full transparency regarding the size of lobbying consultancies’ clients in ranges of 10,000 euro;
• Safeguards against under-reporting, including: regular checks on registrations and meaningful enforcement of the rules to prevent under-reporting.
• Clearer guidance on disclosure requirements is needed (depending on what is released) so that there's a greater level of transparency on funding sources of all registrants;
• Publication of the names of lobbyists that have been found to be in breach of the rules.

Why lobbying transparency matters

Between 25.000 and 30.000 professional lobbyists currently roam the corridors of the EU institutions, a large majority representing business interests. Without rules on transparency and ethics for lobbying, the influence of corporate lobbyists on EU policy-making has largely remained out of public sight. The influence granted to corporate lobbyists in EU decision-making raises serious concerns over the impartiality of EU decision-making and its democratic principle.