Brussels, 24/08/2005 (Agence Europe) - In its founding declaration, the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU) demands that “the current secrecy and privileged access to EU decision-makers enjoyed by business interests” must end. It considers that the voluntary codes of conduct developed by lobbying firms do not guarantee transparency, whereas, in its view, the establishment of a system of registration and declaration for lobbyists would be perfectly possible. Such a system would permit the online publication of a database for European citizens, a measure which would fit perfectly into the plan “D” (for “democracy”) favoured by the European Commission following the rejection of the European Constitution in France and the Netherlands. ALTER-EU reports that its initiative is supported by more than 140 civil society groups, trade unions, academics and public affairs firms.
Siim Kallas, the European Commissioner for administration, audit and anti-fraud, was present at the creation of ALTER-EU. In March he launched a European transparency initiative (see EUROPE 8950) identifying three areas for consideration: the issue of access to data on the recipients of European funds, the activities of pressure groups (lobbies and NGOs), and the integrity of people within the European institutions.