Brussels, 05/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission will be celebrating the first anniversary of its new lobby group system on 23 June 2009. On 4 June 2009, the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU) published a report criticising the feeble percentage of lobbyists who have bothered to register and the lack of transparency over the financial information published by lobby groups. ALTER-EU suggests improvements like making the voluntary EU register compulsory.
ALTER-EU is a coalition of more than 160 civil society groups, trade unions, academics and public affairs firms concerned at the increasing influence exerted by corporate lobbyists on the political agenda in Europe. This is not the first time that it has slammed problems with the EU lobby register.
On 25 May 2009, the total number of entries on the register was 1,488, a sharp increase on the 871 lobby groups registered on 23 January 2009. ALTER-EU argues that this is a very feeble proportion of the Brussels-based interest groups as only 23% of the 2,600 Brussels-based lobby groups are registered.
ALTER-EU criticises the fact that only 206 companies have registered. The register does not include big companies like AIG, Alcan, Apple, AstraZeneca, AT&T, BAE Systems, Barclays, Bertelsmann, Boeing, British Airways, Caterpillar, Cisco, E-on, Electrabel, ebay; EDF, Ericsson, Fortis; Heinz; Hewlett Packard, Mastercard, Monsanto, Morgan Stanley; Nestlé, Nokia; Pioneer; Rolls Royce, Syngenta and Vodafone.
Think tanks are criticised for failing to join in because only 25 have registered (the Commission believes there are 63 think tanks based in Brussels that should register). ALTER-EU believes that most Brussels-based think tanks are boycotting the register, including Friends of Europe, the Centre for European Policy Studies and Bruegel. ALTER-EU reveals that Gplus Europe has temporarily suspended its registration in order to “conceal some of its clients”.
ALTER-EU argues that the requirements for divulgence of financial information need to be clarified, concerned that it is impossible to know how much money companies spend on lobbying in Brussels. Many lobbyists play down the sums involved, in ALTER-EU's view.
The European Commission has refused to comment on ALTER-EU's report, inviting the group to send it a copy. Interested parties have until 15 June 2009 to send in their comments about the register to the European Commission. Over the summer, the European Commission will use the results of the consultation to review how the lobby register operates. The Commission says that the nearly 1500 registrations are a positive sign and seems to want to keep registration voluntary. It admits, however, that the system can be improved. Guidelines have been drawn up for European Commission officials to help them know how to behave with lobbyists. (L.C./transl.fl)