Lobbyregister verbeterd na evaluatie van eerste jaar (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Europese Commissie (EC) i, gepubliceerd op woensdag 28 oktober 2009.

IP/09/1608

Brussels, 28 October 2009

Commission's lobby register improved following one-year review

The Commission has adopted today a communication drawing from the lessons of the first year of its register of interest representatives. Registration has now become a normal step for those intending to interact with the European institutions. With more than 2000 organisations registered so far, the voluntary approach has worked and made the register a good basis on which to build further. While the fundamentals of the Commission's register are safeguarded – voluntary nature of the register linked to a code of conduct, reasonable level of financial disclosure, declarations by organisations rather by individuals – the functioning of the register is improved. The Commission now hopes to make speedy progress on agreeing a common, improved register with the European Parliament.

Scope of the register and specific categories of interest representatives

The review clarifies the scope of activities covered by the register, and hence to be included in making the financial estimate. The revised definition of eligible activities covers direct lobbying as well as all indirect means of lobbying like think-tank reports, platforms, fora, campaigns. This additional guidance should facilitate the registration of a number of organisations that were still hesitant to do so.

Lawyers and think tanks

Two specific categories do not contribute their full share one year after the launch of the register.

While law firms were included among the target groups from the very beginning, they are still largely hiding behind the bar claiming registration is against the bar rules. The Commission is convinced that there is a way to register while respecting the bar rules. To facilitate this registration, further clarification is provided on the distinction between legal advice and lobbying. The Commission intends to actively pursue its contacts with the bar associations to resolve this issue.

The review confirms the expectation that think tanks should join the register, and the revised definition further underlines that the indirect influence often pursued via events and publications organised by think tanks is to be considered a lobbying activity. To facilitate registration, a separate category for think tanks is created within the Register in order to underline their distinct character from other registrants.

Financial information required

The provision of financial information by public affairs consultancies is adapted. The experience gained over the past year has demonstrated that the choice offered between expressing the relative weight of clients in brackets of either €50.000 or 10 %-points of turnover, failed to meet the original objective. In practice, registrants choosing the percentage option have disclosed their client list, but not – as originally intended – given adding transparency to the relative weight of those clients. This applies, in particular, to the large companies, with the unintended consequence that smaller companies were required to be more transparent than larger ones. The Commission is therefore replacing the current choice between brackets and percentage of turnover by client by a unique grid composed of brackets in euros of progressive size. In addition to the information already provided by the register as to the financial resources mobilised for the purposes of interest representation, information concerning the human resources at stake is requested.

Next steps

On the basis of the review, the Commission will now get back to work on a common register with the European Parliament. The next meeting of the inter-institutional high level group – composed of MEP Diana Wallis, Isabelle Durant, Jo Leinen, and Carlo Casini for the Parliament and of Vice-President Siim Kallas i for the European Commission – will take place on 12 November.

More information :

The register of interest representatives: http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regrin

SPEECH/09/365