On the 23 June 2011, a new voluntary ‘Transparency Register’ was launched by the European Commission and the European Parliament. It replaces the European Commission ‘Register of Interest Representatives’. The EU Civil Society Contact Group decided adopt higher standards of transparency and be consistent with the criticisms the Group formulated about the Register.
The EU Civil Society Contact Group guidelines reflect in depth discussion with ALTER-EU as well as lobby transparency experts, in particular comparing the EU framework with the US lobby disclosure legislations.
Executive summary / policy recommendations
Members of the EU Civil Society Contact Group and ALTER-EU have therefore decided to adopt higher standard of transparency than the inconsistent and insufficient requirements for registration in the “Transparency Register”. It also aims to show how the Register could be improved.
A meaningful register must disclose:
- the names of lobbyists and the number of full-time equivalents (fte’s) should be declared by all registrants,
- the finances involved in any lobbying effort, including the specific funding resources, and
- the specific lobbying issues, including the official reference numbers of targeted legislative pieces.
The EU CSCG guidelines target all organisations entities that want to register in the voluntary “Transparency Register”.
In the guidelines you can find:
- which additional information you should submit in the interest of transparency
- an example of how to calculate your expenditures related to lobbying, and
- a short text with a critique of the register that we suggest you include in your registration.
Related issues
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– [->art4769]
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