Call for joint EU action on lobbyists suffers setback

EU member states appear to have dashed hopes of a joint institutional working group on the activities of lobbyists.

The European parliament had led demands for the creation of such a body to consider the possibility of a common register for all lobbyists wishing to have access to EU institutions.

The assembly’s president Hans-Gert Pöttering wrote to the council of ministers seeking its support for a joint working group composed of representatives from parliament, the European commission and member states.

But the council's permanent representatives committee has dismissed the idea as “inappropriate.”

In a letter to Pöttering, the committee’s general affairs working party welcomes “the efforts of parliament and the commission to address the issues of transparency and accountability in their dealings with lobbyists."

“This is clearly an issue of interest and concern to Europe’s citizens."

The letter goes on to say, “The issue of lobbyists is of less relevance to the council than to parliament and commission. The council considers that, for the time being, it is not appropriate for it to engage in such an exercise.”

The council’s response was branded “totally unacceptable” by transparency campaigner Monica Frassoni, joint leader of the Greens group in parliament.

The Italian MEP, a member of the parliamentary reform working group, said, “To suggest that member state representatives are not as exposed to lobbying as MEPs or commission people is wrong and simply untrue. They are as exposed as the rest of us.

“For some reason the council seems to consider itself above this issue and the need for full transparency which is something I find totally unacceptable. The council’s response does not exactly surprise me and I just hope it does not hinder the parliament in its efforts to secure full transparency and accountability in this area.

“I call on member states to reconsider this apparent decision but, irrespective of that, we should press ahead with a common register for lobbyists.”

Further reaction came from Eric Wesselius, of the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (Alter EU), who said, "It is very disappointing but not entirely surprising.

"We favour a common register covering all the institutions but the important issue for now is that parliament and the commission press ahead with this proposal and, hopefully, the council will come on board at a later stage."

The move comes less than four months after the commission introduced its much-awaited voluntary register for the estimated 15,000 lobbyists in Brussels.

In the first three months, only 370 organisations were thought to have signed up, possibly reflecting resistance from their clients to disclose sensitive financial information.

Siim Kallas, the commissioner responsible for administrative affairs, will announce the success, or otherwise, of the scheme, next Spring.

The council response to Pöttering, however, says that “considering that the commission will conduct a review to examine whether the new system has produced the desired results, it seems premature to start discussing a broader inter-institutional approach.”

Several MEPs, including German Socialist deputy Jo Leinen, have spearheaded efforts for a joint working group on the issue.

At present, parliament and commission each has their own register but Leinen, chairman of parliament’s constitutional affairs committee, says the three main EU institutions should combine their efforts to address an alleged lack of transparency in lobbying by setting up a single register.

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