EU to reveal lobbying in transparency push
Frans Timmermans - Photo EC
(BRUSSELS) - The EU announced plans to make top officials publicly declare meetings with lobbyists as part of plans by under-fire new European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker to boost transparency.
Under the new rules the European Union's 28 Commissioners and their staff members will have to log meetings with the estimated 30,000 Brussels-based lobbyists who seek to influence policy.
"All contacts will have to be made public," said European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, the "right-hand" man to Juncker, who took office on November 1.
"We have moved from a time when governments had an attitude to the public of 'trust me' to the public saying 'show me'."
Also to be included are the commission's influential director generals, the bloc's most senior civil servants who draw up laws that affect the lives of the EU's 500 million citizens.
Juncker announced plans for lobbying transparency earlier this year when laying out plans for his five year mandate as head of the powerful executive branch of the 28-nation European Union.
But the issue of transparency in general has taken on greater urgency as Juncker faces a confidence vote next week about tax breaks given to big business during his time as prime minister of Luxembourg.
Camapaigners welcomed the move, which comes as Brussels tries to make itself look more accountable to voters who are increasingly sceptical about how it is taking power from national governments.
"It is a very big step in the right direction," said Olivier Hoedeman, campaign coordinator at NGO, Corporate Europe Advisory. "We hope it will be broadened further."
The Commission takes major decisions involving a wide swathe of sectors, including the economy, health, finance, energy and trade.
To influence these decisions, companies and interest groups have increasingly turned to international lobbying firms, that without specific rules have been allowed a freer rein in Brussels than in many governments.
The new Juncker commission has also promised to make compulsory a lobbying register introduced on a voluntary basis by the previous commission headed by Jose Manuel Barroso.
About 6,500 entities have registered to the list so far, but many have opted out, including Heineken, Coca Cola and Time Warner. Others like energy firm E.oN and Deutsche Telekom only signed up under pressure from campaign groups.
Timmermans meanwhile urged the European Parliament to follow the commission's lead on transparency.
Several commissioners who have moved on to parliament have drawn criticism for their links to corporations.