19/05/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 19 May, the European Observatory lodged a complaint on behalf of the European Ombudsman against the European Commission, accusing its Directorate General for External Trade of discriminatory treatment in favour of company lobbyists and of attempting to conceal their relations from the public. The complaint highlights how the DG shares details of its negotiations with pressure groups such as BusinessEurope but does not do so with other public interest groups. The complaint also underlines the DG's practices of failing to provide reports on meetings with lobbyists, and of not replying to requests for information within reasonable time limits. The complaint is available at: http: //http://www.corporateeurope.org/system/files/files/article /ombudsman+complaint+dgtrade+access+to+information.pdf (H.D./transl.rh)