Council joins lobby transparency negotiations mostly empty-handed
The Council has finally agreed to join the negotiations on the reform on the EU Lobby Register but bringing only a disappointing proposal to the table.
The Council has finally agreed to join the negotiations on the reform on the EU Lobby Register but bringing only a disappointing proposal to the table.
Extending the “no registration, no meeting” rule from the Commission elite to lower-level officials would at once improve lobby transparency and protect civil servants. But the Commission has been actively avoiding to address this.
The Commission wants to redefine lobbying during the upcoming revision of the EU lobby transparency register so that it only relates to direct contacts with EU decision-makers. But such a change of approach would allow certain lobbyists to operate under the radar, away from public scrutiny.
Shedding light on Italy’s official position on the EU Transparency Register seems like an impossible task
The Council of the European Union is one of the most important institutions involved in the EU’s decision-making process. But despite a ruling by the highest EU court and increased demands from civil society, they refuse to sign up to the transparency register.
Two years after Dieselgate put the issue of corporate capture into the limelight, EU institutions have the perfect opportunity to get tough on lobbying, through a comprehensive reform of the EU lobby transparency.
The European Commission proposed to reform the EU Lobbying Transparency Register in September 2016, promising to make it mandatory across EU institutions.
But, when it comes to lobbying transparency, the ball is now in the European Parliament's court.
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