Only 32% of MEPs have published their meetings with lobbies, according to an analysis unveiled by the NGO Transparency International EU (TI EU) on Tuesday 30 June, when it launched a new feature on its ‘EU Integrity Watch’ website to view the 8,300 meetings that have been made public.
According to this digital tool, large disparities in publication rates exist between national delegations and between political groups in the European Parliament.
The Greens/EFA group is well ahead of the pack, with 91% of its members having published at least one lobbying meeting since the beginning of their mandate, while the Identity and Democracy group has the worst score (7.9%).
In terms of nationality, Swedish MEPs scored the highest (90.5%), while their Croatian and Cypriot counterparts (far fewer in number) did not report any meetings.
Considering these results disappointing, TI EU deplores the fact that Parliament’s rules are not clearer and more harmonised with the measures followed by the European Commission in the framework of the European Transparency Register.
According to current Parliament rules, committee chairs, rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs are obliged to publish their meetings with interest groups on Parliament’s website, but other MEPs are only encouraged to do so on a voluntary basis.
Interinstitutional negotiations on the reform of the European Transparency Register have recently resumed (see EUROPE 12508/26).
To access the tool: https://bit.ly/2VAZmNc (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)