Lobbying in Brussels: it is transparent?

Brussels, or at least the EU bubble that sits in it, has become some sort of European federal capital. Around the main EU institutions that lie and work in this city, thousands of interest groups have emerged – over 3,600 according to the recently-created European Commission’s register. The European Parliament has for many years required registration in an accredited lobbyists list in order to obtain a long-term entrance badge. The Commission’s register was only created in 2008, as part of the European Transparency Strategy (ETI), but is far more systematic and provides detailed information about registered interest representatives (https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/transparency/regrin/welcome.do). The Commission and the Parliament are currently working on the establishment of a joint transparency register and have almost reached an agreement.

Certain aspects of ETI have drawn some criticism. Registration, for instance, is voluntary and is thus not a pre-requisite to do advocacy work – most interest groups in Brussels have however registered, law firms being among the few to resist.

Certain interest groups, in particular those that regard themselves as NGOs that defend worthy causes, dislike being listed along with industry representatives and public affairs professionals. The register allows indicating the specific category of interest group but the Commission does not seem to attach much importance to that nuance and rightly expects registration of all entities “engaged in activities carried out with the objective of influencing the policy formulation and decision-making processes of the European institutions”.

As an example, Policy Action is registered as a public affairs consultancy, with a list of its main clients and an indication of those that have independently joined the register.

Setting aside the debate about terminology (like lobbying or advocacy), it is reasonable to expect EU institutions to maintain a regular communication with stakeholders as a way of improving the quality of its policies and legislative proposals. The EU takes decisions in virtually all domains and every sector that is going to be affected by those decisions should at least have the possibility to make its voice heard and explain their possible impact. Interest groups also have information and expertise to share with policy-makers and legislators. Their input can contribute to the democratic debate and in fact for every organisation there is an equivalent defending the opposite views. Nevertheless, their activities must be carried out with transparency, not behind the curtain. Despite any shortcomings that they may have, ETI and the register have contributed to give more visibility to those activities and lobbying in Brussels is far more transparent than in many national capitals.

Manuel Espárrago,

Senior Account Manager, Brussels

Policy Action

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