The European affairs ministers of the EU Member States, meeting in Council on Tuesday 25 June, discussed the directive on the transparency of interest representation on behalf of third countries, a central proposal of the ‘Defence of Democracy’ package presented in December 2023 (see EUROPE 13335/28).
The directive aims to establish harmonised rules across the EU to ensure the transparency of lobbying activities carried out for third country governments. At present, only 15 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain and Latvia) have a national transparency register, underlining the importance of a harmonised approach.
During the discussions, chaired by Belgian foreign affairs minister Hadja Lahbib, the majority of Member States supported the initiative, but expressed varying concerns about the scope of the directive, the level of harmonisation required and the safeguards against the stigmatisation of civil society organisations. Ireland, Croatia and France insisted on the need to maintain flexibility in order to respect specific national characteristics.
The Irish minister, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, stressed: “Ireland already has a well functioning lobbying register. We support the ‘Defence of Democracy’ package, but it is crucial to allow sufficient flexibility”. Croatian Secretary of State Andreja Metelko-Zgombić added: “We see the value of a common European approach, but we are arguing for a level of harmonisation that allows specific national characteristics to be taken into account”.
The ministers also reiterated that this proposal is strictly an instrument of transparency. The need to minimise the administrative burden was emphasised. Germany’s Minister of State for European Affairs, Anna Lührmann, said: “We must ensure that this directive covers all lobbying activities, not just those financed by third countries”.
The fear of stigmatising civil society organisations was also a key issue. “It is imperative to avoid any stigmatisation of civil society organisations”, stressed Ms Lührmann. This concern was shared by Luxembourg and Spain.
The Spanish Secretary of State, Fernando Sampedro Marcos, added: “A single national register would be the best solution to avoid stigmatisation”.
Several delegations, including the Netherlands, requested a new impact assessment. The Dutch minister, Hanke Bruins Slot, said: “We are in favour of a new impact assessment”.
The Vice-President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, warned: “We must work together to improve this proposal and avoid any interpretation that could turn it into a foreign agent law”, underlining the risks associated with repressive laws, as in Russia and Hungary.
Discussions at technical level will continue under the Hungarian Presidency, with the aim of finding a consensus that respects specific national characteristics while reinforcing the EU’s democratic values.
The Belgian Presidency’s discussion paper: https://aeur.eu/f/cth
The proposed directive: https://aeur.eu/f/cti (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)