Brussels, 30/10/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 30 October, a coalition of organisations militating in support of transparency and representing civil society and consumers proposed ideas to plug the gaps in the register of lobbyists set in place by the European Commission on 23 June (EUROPE 9688). The organisations "EU Civil Society Contact Group", Alter-EU (Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation) and BEUC (European Consumers' Organisation) recommend, amongst other things: - that the register include the names of the lobbyists and the field in which they carry out their activities; - a precise definition of lobbying activities, for a fair calculation of expenditure incurred. "As it stands today, the Commission's register is a failure. A register without the names of the lobbyists is like a telephone directory without telephone numbers", said Alter-EU's Jorgo Riss. (L.C./trans.fl)