Mandatory Transparency Register: political meeting to restart negotiations - Hoofdinhoud
On Tuesday, 16 June 2020, the European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová i, together with the European Parliament negotiators, Vice-President Katarina Barley i and Danuta Hübner i, Member of the Constitutional Affairs Committee and Ministre Délégué Nikolina Brnjac for the Croatian Presidency of the Council, met to exchange views on the Transparency Register. This is their first such meeting since the discussion was put on hold prior to the European elections in May 2019.
Now in the 9th legislative term, the new European Parliament, the new European Commission and the Council Presidency have each appointed their negotiators. They have all committed to do their best to conclude negotiations with an improved system for transparency of interactions with interest representatives through a mandatory Transparency Register.
Vice-President for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová said: “A common transparency culture among the EU institutions is fundamental for strengthening trust between EU citizens and their Institutions. Today's relaunch of the negotiation on a strong mandatory register is a major step towards more transparency in EU relations with interest representatives.”
The three institutions reiterated their common ambition to reach an agreement on this important file as soon as possible. They acknowledged that a tri-institutional Transparency Register would boost a common transparency culture, and would deliver the transparency expected by EU citizens, while taking into account the specific nature of each institution.
Background
The European Commission presented its proposal for a new inter-institutional agreement on a mandatory Transparency Register for interest representatives covering the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on 28 September 2016. The proposal aims to strengthen the framework for transparent and ethical interactions between interest representatives and the three institutions participating in the new scheme. Since 2011, the Parliament and the Commission have jointly operated a public register for interest representatives aiming to increase the transparency and accountability of the EU decision-making process. The Council has been an observer to the current scheme since 2014.
Three formal meetings at political level were held during the previous legislative term but negotiations were paused ahead of the European elections and the appointment of a new Commission.
The three institutions confirmed their readiness to be as open about the process as possible, in line with theguiding principles for communication that were agreed during the previous parliamentary term. More information on the Transparency Register negotiations can be found on the dedicated EP webpage. The Transparency Register's annual reports, including the newly published 2019 edition, are available here.