Culture of secrecy around Brussels lobbying must be tackled head on

Posted by Bronwen Maher on April 23, 2010 at 03:52 PM

Gaping holes in EU governance in relation to the activities of lobbyists in Brussels have been exposed in a new report published today.

The revelations contained in the research which was carried out by Friends of the Earth Europe has led to demands from Labour MEP Nessa Childers for the mandatory registration of lobbyists who engage with the EU institutions and elected MEPs.

She said, “Big business interests are not taking the European Commission’s efforts to regulate the activities of lobbyists seriously. The question remains – why would they? The code introduced two years ago is voluntary and by definition contains no sanctions whatsoever to properly enforce acceptable standards.

“Brussels is a lobbying free for all where 20 of the 50 biggest European firms haven’t even bothered to register with the Commission despite their very strong presence in Brussels. The companies that are signed up are also declaring ridiculously low budgets for their lobbying activities.

"A direct comparison between what firms say they spend in Brussels and what they actually spend in Washington, where registration is mandatory and the spending figures are checked for accuracy is very telling.

“The report found a situation where, for example European banks and insurance firms spent over €18 million lobbying in Washington in 2008 but supposedly less than €3 million in Brussels in the same year. It is clear to me that many firms are hiding the majority of their spending on this lobbying which influences the laws affecting over 500 million Europeans.

"Since I have taken up my duties as an MEP last year, I have been exposed directly to the lobbying storm from big business. I have been working to bring in a strict food and drinks labelling regime across Europe which will benefit the health of Irish and EU consumers.

“My office closely monitored the activities of lobbyists in recent months in regard to this legislation and we received ten times more lobbying requests from business interests compared to health and consumer groups and NGOs.

"The Commission's lobby register has clearly failed to end the culture of secrecy around lobbying in Brussels. The review which took place in October last year was welcome but left the register voluntary and open to abuse.

“Today I have written to the Commission demanding that they make mandatory registration a requirement as soon as possible. We all know the reputation the US has developed for being overly influenced by lobbyists, whereas the truth is their system is far more stringent and transparent than the European voluntary code.

“In the absence of a transparent regulatory regime, a cloud will always hang over the lobbying process in Brussels resulting in the danger that important legislation on public health, food safety, the environment or the banking system which affects 500 million citizens will be disproportionately influenced by the demands of big money.

"We know only too well in Ireland what happens when big business interests gain access to the corridors of power. We know now the devastating result of the 'Galway Tent' culture which led to our property bubble and burst. The European Union needs input from all stakeholders when drawing up new legislation, but it must be a transparent process. At the moment, this is simply not the case."

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