Brussels, 04/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament welcomes the European Commission's proposal to set up a common and optional register for those representing interest and pressure groups (lobbyists) who wish to gain access to the European institutions. This is set out in the draft report by Alexander Stubb (EPP-ED, Finland) that the EP constitutional affairs committee will put to the vote on 1 April (plenary session voting is scheduled for 8 May). The EP has had an optional register since 1996 in which some 5,000 of the 15,000 lobbyists working in Brussels are registered. As part of its European Transparency Initiative, the Commission suggests opening a “one-stop-shop” at the Community institutions where lobbyists can register if they so wish. Although the Council does not want to hear of such a register, the EP rapporteur approves the idea and suggests that the Commission negotiate an interinstitutional agreement. A joint working group should be formed as soon as possible, Mr Stubb recommends, also calling on the Council to review its position and to join. The EP and the Commission share the same definition of lobbying, namely: “activities carried out with the objective of influencing the policy formulation and decision-making processes of the European institutions”.
In its proposal, the Commission calls on interest representatives joining the register to disclose their main financial sources. Specialised consultancy firms and law firms should therefore publish their turnover attributable to lobbying the EU institutions as well as the relative weight of their major clients. Representatives of companies and professional groups, for their part, should give an estimate of the costs associated with direct lobbying of the EU institutions incurred by in-house lobbyists and trade associations. Finally, the NGOs and reflection groups should disclose the overall budget and breakdown of their main sources of finance. The EP rapporteur agrees with the need to assess financial transparency of lobbies registered but stresses that the obligation of financial disclosure must apply to all interest groups equally. It also asks the Commission to give more specific information about the nature of such disclosure before Parliament makes any decision to join the register. Furthermore, Mr Stubb welcomes the idea that a rapporteur may, as he or she sees fit (on a voluntary basis), use a “legislative footprint”, i.e. an indicative list (attached to Parliament's reports) of interest representatives who were consulted and had significant input during the preparation of the report. Mr Stubb considers, however, that it is even more important for the Commission to attach such a “legislative footprint” for all its legislative proposals. (H.B.)