The “European Semester” may sound like a boring piece of Euro-jargon and if we say this is part of the European Commission’s new-ish macroeconomic surveillance programme that tries to keep track of the growth and competitiveness policies in...
European Council President Donald Tusk had some scathing words on corruption in his statement ahead of the G7 meeting in Germany at the weekend, worth quoting in full: “Finally, I am really satisfied that some leaders want to use the summit to...
Putting EU lobbying in perspective Part I: Canada I was fortunate enough to attend the International Open Data Conference in Ottawa, Canada this week. Visiting the Canadian capital also gave me the opportunity to meet with the Lobbying Commissioner,...
Love is not necessarily in the air in Brussels these days! Particularly not after the 2014 Annual Report publication of the EU’s Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) yesterday – highlighting last year’s developments and achievements in preventing...
The reliably leaky Commission machine is at it again, this time widely trailing its plans to tackle tax avoidance in the EU to the Brussels press and MEPs. You can read the entire text here. Our main interest in all of this is the Commission’s...
Political participation is a fundamental element in mature democratic systems, and governments should ensure that decisions are taken in the interests of citizens. Unfortunately, money and inside contacts often seem to be necessary to open the doors...
On 28 April the deadline expired for all organisations on the EU Transparency Register to perform an update of their registration. Organisations that did not update were suspended and no longer appear in the public database of the Transparency...
With the European Parliament’s plenary debate and vote on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) due this week, one may wonder if and when the EU machinery will start discussing the real “hot...
Exposing corruption, maladministration and mismanagement can be a dangerous route to take! Nicole-Marie Meyer, who reported evidence of embezzlement and forgery for example, was first demoted, then harassed and ultimately dismissed from the French...
