Background
Lobbying is a booming growth industry in Brussels. Estimates of how many lobbyists haunt the corridors of the EU institutions in Brussels vary from 15 000 to 20 000. Of these, according to the Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), 70% represent corporate interests, 20% regions, cities and international organisations, and only 10% citizens’ interests.
The large lobby industry in Brussels has gained considerable power and influence over policy making, and especially corporate interests frequently manage to alter, water down or block legislation they find unfavourable. However, the activities of lobbyists in Brussels largely go unchecked.
There is no mandatory system in place for reporting who lobbies on what issues, on behalf of which clients, and what kind of money goes towards lobbying efforts. Such legislation is in place in the US and makes the lobbying process in Washington far more transparent than in Brussels where only voluntary arrangements exist. Examples of such include the Code of Conduct of the Society of European Affairs Practitioners (SEAP) and the EULobby’s Code of Ethics. However, these measures are seen as insufficient by many actors.
The European Transparency Intitative (ETI)
On 3 March 2005 Siim Kallas, Commissioner for administration and the fight against fraud, speaking at the European Foundation for Management in Birmingham, outlined a European Transparency Initiative (ETI). He promised that sometime in the spring he would launch a far-reaching initiative to improve the accountability of decision-makers in the EU and the rules for transparency affecting lobbyists.
He stated that issues about integrity should not be limited to institutions but include NGOs, professional lobbyists and lawyers. He went on to say that "Registers provided by lobbyists’ organisations in the EU are voluntary and incomprehensive and do not provide much information on the specific interests represented or how it is financed. Self-imposed codes of conduct have few signatories and have so far lacked serious sanctions."
The initiative was welcomed by many NGOs but received with scepticism in the professional lobbyist circles.
Recent developments
While several civil society groups hoped the ETI would bring a substantial review of lobbying in Brussels and introduce mandatory reporting requirements, Commissioner Kallas’ initaitve has been significantly watered down. The 25-member Commission decided instead to create a study group to look into wheter regulation is desirable or even feasible. A green paper may be published this autumn.
The reaction of civil society
The turnaround from the possible introduction of legislation to a mere study group on the lobbying activities in Brussels has prompted several civil society organisations to join forces and create the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU), coordinated by the Corporate Europe Observatory.
They have produced the founding statement "Ending corporate privileges and secrecy around lobbying in the European Union" in which they express their concern about the influence of corporate interest in the EU institutions demand lobbying disclosure legislation.
As of 2 June over 100 organisations have signed this document, and interested organisations can sign up here. Health Action International (HAI), an EPHA member, has signed up and encourages others to do the same.
A more general initiative regarding transparency, accountablity and legitimacy has been taken by the Social Platform. It is in the process of preparing a position paper on civil dialogue which is expected to be adopted by its steering committee later this year. In a draft definitions paper the platform sets out to define the terms ’civil dialogue’, ’civil society’, ’transparency’, ’accreditation’ and ’accountability’ in order to facilitate the current discussions on civil dialogue and remove ambiguities.
A third initiative is the ’Citizens’ Key to Europe’ campaign organised by SOLIDAR, IFIAS and New Europe. This campaign backs Commissioner Wallström’s Plan to establish a democratic infrastructure in the EU and believes this is the citizens’ key to democracy in Europe. The organisers want the debate about European democracy to start now. Several NGOs have signed up to the campaign.
EPHA’s related articles
The European Patients Forum: a model of secrecy and conflict of interest
