European Union: EU commission presents 'realistic' lobbying rules

The European Commission has called for stricter rules on lobby groups, amid controversies on former top officials having gone through the so-called "revolving door" into jobs with large business.

Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans unveiled the initiative for a mandatory lobby register on Wednesday (28 September) by saying that there is urgent need to rebuild trust in EU law-making.

”Citizens have the right to know who tries to influence EU officials,” Timmermans said.

”We propose a simple policy: no conference with decision-makers without prior registration. Through the register, the public will see who is lobbying, who they represent and how much they spend.”

The current system only applies to the commission and parliament.

It lacks control mechanisms for checking that the data provided is correct. Transparency International (TI) last year discovered that half of the entries contained false, outdated or misleading facts.

Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker vowed upon his appointment in 2014 to improve the register.

Yannick Bendel, TI’s EU policy officer, told EUobserver that there were some upsides to celebrate next Wednesday's announcement.

”There is a clear push to improve the quality of the data registered. We are happy they want to increase the resources of the secretariat managing the register and do additional to verify the entries,” he said.

But he said the proposition stopped short of a ”transparency revolution”, which was particularly disappointing given that lobby organisations themselves - such as the European Public Affairs Consultancies' Association (EPACA) - were as well asking for stronger rules.
The ghosts of Barroso and Kroes

Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), an extra campaign group, said it was shameful the commission did not go further given the circumstances.

Commissioners are taking flak for their predecessors, former president Jose Manuel Barroso who landed a job at US investment bank Goldman Sachs, and former anti-trust boss Neelie Kroes who failed to cut short her ties to the business world while in office.

Juncker has frustrated critics with a seemingly laid-back response to the scandals, but he referred the Barroso case to an internal ethics committee next the EU Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly asked him questions.

One of Juncker's initial steps upon entering office was to impose what he called ”the majority transparent rules in the world” on his team - members of the commission college and directors-general - who have been banned from conference with unregistered lobbyists.

"The commission leads by example," Timmermans said.

But CEO regretted the proposition didn’t extend beyond top level officials the obligation to verify whom they met with.

”The vast majority of lobby meetings will still be off the radar and unregistered lobbyists can go about their business unchecked. What the commission puts forward is still a long way from a genuinely mandatory register that really boosts transparency,” CEO wrote in a statement.

Timmermans told journalists rank-and-file officials should be given the benefit of trust that they do their job properly.
Blame Council and Parliament

But TI’s Bendel said ”everyone knows” that Brussels lobbying is often technical and takes place on lower levels.

He added, however, that the major culprits of continued opacity were found in the parliament and council, which represents EU member states.

”National governments have clearly indicated that any proposition that would include their permanent representations in Brussels is not be up for debate,” Bendel said.

The ambassador and deputy ambassador of the country holding the council's rotating presidency and the country taking over, inclunding the secretary-general and directors-general of the council, would in next have to make sure that the interest representatives they meet were registered, according to Wednesday's proposition.

Officials from other member states would not be subjected to the rules.

The parliament, meanwhile, just postponed indefinitely a vote on a transparency statement by MEP Sven Giegold.

The German green had proposed, part other, a legislative footprint to trace outsider influence on lawmaking, a ban on second jobs for MEPs, better disclosure on the money they earned beyond their parliamentary fee and stronger internal oversight committee on MEPs who break code of conduct rules.

Bendel recognised the parliament and council were reluctant to go forward but said it was a shame the commission gave up on its progressive role.

”They have, of course, talked to the other institutions and checked where they stand,” he said. ”In that sense, this proposition could be called realistic.”

But the proposition is likely to be watered-down even further in negotiations with the parliament and council.
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