*Update with the outcome* The Commission’s Register of Interest Representatives

EPHA has been calling for EU lobby transparency since 2005 and monitored the work of the European Commission as it was preparing its lobby register in 2007-8. EPHA, together with other Brussels-based platforms and actors, repeatedly alerted the Commission to the fact that its draft proposal fell short of its own objectives and transparency standards.

The register and its shortcomings

We consider that the Commission’s voluntary register for ’interest representatives’ does not meet basic benchmarks for lobbying transparency.

Our greatest concern lies with:

 its voluntary nature, which gives it no effective sanctions to ensure completeness and accuracy of the information that the register contains;
 the absence of the names of lobbyists;
 inconsistent and insufficient requirements on financial disclosure.

The register concerns "all entities engaged in activities carried out with the objective of influencing the policy formulation and decision-making processes of the European institutions."

Guidelines for a transparent registration

EPHA has been working within the Civil Society Contact Group (CSCG) and ALTER-EU to register following some guidelines

In brief, these guidelines explain how to provide additional information regarding:

 a criticism of the register;
 financial information;
 name of the people lobbying on behalf of your organisation;
 specific lobbying issues.

Assessment of the results of the register

In January - Seven months after the launch of the register, it is time to assess the outcome of the registry:

 Only 871 bodies have registered so far (23 January 2009), of which just 458 have offices in Brussels. This means that less than 20% of Brussels-based lobby entities have registered so far, based on the European Parliament’s estimate of 2,600 lobby groups with offices in Brussels.
 Registration levels are low for all categories of ’interest representatives’, whether these are lobby firms, corporations, industry lobby groups, think tanks, law firms, NGOs or trade unions lobbying the EU institutions.
 While most of the major lobby firms, corporations and industry lobby groups with offices in Brussels are still missing from the register, large law firms which provide lobbying services and major Brussels-based think tanks appear to be boycotting the register.
 The lax reporting requirements developed by the Commission allow lobby consultancies to avoid meaningful financial disclosure and hide the size of the lobbying work they undertake for their clients.
 The absence of a clear definition of what to include when calculating lobby expenses allows lobby firms, corporations and business lobby groups to register amounts that are almost certainly lower than their real spending, as shown by the registrations of BP, BusinessEurope and CEFIC.

Along with ALTER EU and Transparency International, EPHA is calling for a fundamental overhaul of the Register: the voluntary approach is failing, the compliance rate is alarmingly low and the overall quality of information disclosed is very poor.

To restore the credibility of its transparency agenda, the European Commission must address the flaws in its voluntary register. This means at the very least:

 Introducing a mandatory system that makes registration a duty rather than just an option;
 Making data entries comparable (currently, those that have registered in different categories are allowed to calculate data in different ways)
 industry lobbyists are asked to give a ’good faith estimate’ of their lobbying expenditure in Brussels, while public interest organisations must disclose their total budget.
 Including an obligation to report the names of lobbyists (currently missing from the register).

In parallel, the Register has been hijacked by a Italian mischief-maker who registered a string of seemingly fake companies.

Likewise, the Cheerleading Federation of Ireland signed up to the registry in the mistaken hope that doing so would give it some recognition at the European level in order to win funding for the body.

Next steps

The Commission will carry out a review of the register in June 2009, including an assessment of whether the levels of compliance are satisfactory

On 8 May 2008, the European Parliament called for the creation of a mandatory public register common to all three institutions, providing for "full financial disclosure" and accompanied by a code of conduct, complete with a mechanism for expelling individual lobbyists who infringe its rules. However, Brussels insiders believe it will take "a lot more time" before an agreement on a common, mandatory register can be reached, speculating over a possible "broker’s role" for the Commission between the Parliament and a "reluctant" Council.

For further information

 ALTER EU’s Report on "Commission Lobby Register Fails Transparency Tes".

EPHA related articles

 EU lobbying transparency a step closer but still some way to go

 *Updated with the results* Worst EU Lobbying Awards 2008