By Martin Banks - 4th June 2009
If banks and big business remain uncontrolled, we’re all paying the price
Daniel Pentzlin
More than 350 candidates standing in this week's European elections have pledged to "work for an EU that puts public interests before private profits".
As part of the 'Pin down you candidate' initiative organised by campaign groups around Europe, citizens from all 27 EU member states have been asking candidates to "commit to work for lobbying transparency, big business accountability, a just EU trade policy, and financial market regulation".
The candidates - mostly from the Greens (47 per cent), Social Democrats (17 per cent) and other left-leaning parties (17 per cent) - have signed one or more of the four pledges.
Candidates for Liberal (eight per cent), Conservative (four per cent) and nationalist parties (three per cent) have also declared their support for the demands.
Candidates were asked to sign pledges to promote a mandatory system of registration and reporting for all lobbyists influencing EU policymaking, and to support a strengthened legal framework for corporate accountability.
They were also asked to push for an EU trade agenda that prioritises economic and social justice instead of big business profits, and to work for legislation on financial markets, ending tax avoidance and fighting corruption.
Daniel Pentzlin, of Friends of the Earth Europe, said, "Many prospective candidates have signed the pledges for a more transparent and democratic Europe working for the interests of people and the environment - this gives us reason to be positive about the incoming parliament.
"If banks and big business remain uncontrolled, we're all paying the price.
"We hope that people go to the polls and vote for the candidates most likely to end EU's close ties with big business."
Four European-wide civil society networks - the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (Alter-EU), the European Attac network, the Seattle to Brussels Network (S2B), and the European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ) - are running the campaign.
The policy areas addressed by the campaign cover the issues and demands of each one of their networks.
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