In an effort to reduce the influence of lobbyists in the European Union, the European Parliament will vote on a report that would regulate their activities, a proposal that has picked up support from MEPS and alarm from the targets. “Today’s rules for lobbying date back to a time when the only role of the European Parliament was to give opinions. We clearly need stricter rules now that Parliament has become a powerful legislator,” MEP Satu Hassi of Finland, the vice-chairwoman of the parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee said after a seminar sponsored by the Greens/EFA party in Brussels.
The parliament on May 8 will take up a report prepared by former MEP Alexander Stubb of Finland, who has just been appointed foreign minister of his country. Hassi said, “It is an essential part of democracy that various stakeholders can approach decision makers, but in the current system money buys lobbying power. If you have the finances, you can employ lobbyists to meet MEPs one-toone or invite them to dinners. Among professional lobbyists, the number of business representatives is disproportional compared to citizens’ interests groups such as consumer or environmental organisations and trade unions.
“The lack of transparency in lobbying is a key ‘democracy deficit.’ There is currently no obligation for lobbying organisations to publish their funding and the identity of their clients. Everybody knows that lobbyists are often behind legislative amendments tabled by MEPs, yet it is impossible to fully trace the real sources,” she said. The Greens are driving for a mandatory register for all lobbyists starting from 2009 and a public blacklist of those who break the rules and calling for full financial disclosure, which has run into fierce opposition from lobbyists, who have managed to quash restrictive regulations.
Hassi said, “Any proposals for amendments that lobbyists provide to MEPs should also be submitted to a public register. Only these measures will represent a real step forward towards greater transparency and public trust.”
The Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament wrote to Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering with a question regarding the activities of the European Business and Parliament Scheme (EPBS). The letter is yet to receive a response. Monica Frassoni of Italy, Co-president of the Greens/EFA Group said, “The Presidency of the Parliament must shed light on the activities of the European Business and Parliament Scheme to ensure it does not pursue any hidden lobbyist agenda. According to its statute, EPBS is only a parliamentary educational resource for Parliament members and staff and for the political groups.
However, recent events have raised serious doubts about this organisation’s true agenda.”
In preparation for the Eurolat plenary session from April 29-May 1 l in Lima, Peru, one of the parliament’s vicepresidents, Jose-Vidal Quadras of Spain wrote a letter to Eurolat Chairman Jose Ignacio Salafranco asking him to make all participants of this meeting aware of opportunities to visit member companies of the European Business and Parliament Scheme.
The MEP said the invitation seemed at odds with the Common Code of principles by the International Association of Business and Parliament (IABP), the body that manages the EBPS programme. The Code applies to the EBPS programme and demands “programmes ensure that enterprises undertake not to use their relationship for lobbying.” The member companies in the invitation include Suez, BBVA, BP and Telefonica. Telefonica will host an event informing participants on how the company promotes the abolition of child labour.
The problem, the MEP said, is that the companies mentioned have been severely criticised for some of their practices in Latin America and an information event with the parliament could be interpreted as a positive public relations exercise to foster public goodwill. The Greens also want to know why the IABP has been given an office in the European Parliament and use e-mail addresses ending with ‘europarl.europa.eu’, giving the impression that the IABP is an official European Parliament body.
They said the fact that Poettering is a patron of the EBPS cannot justify the provision of rent -free offices in the parliament with costs of telecommunication and telephone paid by the institution.