Today, organisations representing a large cross-section of lobbyists called for strong reform of the EU’s lobby register. The joint letter, initiated by Transparency International EU, calls for mandatory rules for all lobbyists and demands greater transparency around who EU officials and politicians meet with.
The letter calls for a “robust and credible transparency regime”. The signatories state: “we simply cannot afford to further delay reforms and go on with business as usual”.
“The fact that representatives of all these different organisations have come together to say the rules which govern them aren’t strong enough speaks volumes,” said Daniel Freund, who leads Transparency International EU’s work on EU lobbying. “The EU can no longer ignore the flaws in the current lobbying rules,” Freund continued.
The letter calls for all EU institutions to be covered by a mandatory lobby register, including the Council. The signatories demand that all lobbyists register, file their declarations with diligence and abide by the basic rules of the Code of Conduct.
The joint letter was drafted and signed together with the major associations representing EU public affairs professionals (SEAP), consultancies (EPACA) and lawyers (CCBE) and is supported by umbrella groups, such as the European Youth Forum and Social Platform. The demands outlined in the letter were also supported by more than 67,000 citizens from across Europe that signed an online petition.
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More information:
The joint letter “Lobbyists for Transparent Lobbying” can be found here.
The petition is available here.
Transparency International EU’s recommendations on increased lobby transparency are here and the reply to the European Commission consultation is here.
Contacts:
Transparency International EU, Daniel Freund, dfreund@transparency.org, +32 489 58 71 40
SEAP, Rui Faria da Cunha, DG@seap.be, +32 486 99 72 28
EPACA, Karl Isaksson, karl.isaksson@kreab.com, +32 2 737 69 04
CCBE, Simone Cuomo, cuomo@ccbe.eu, +32 2 234 65 10
