EU: LOBBY GROUPS FACE GREATER SCRUTINY
Stefania Bianchi
BRUSSELS - A new Brussels-based lobby watchdog aims to curb the growing influence of powerful corporate lobby groups on European Union decision-making.
The Alliance for Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU), launched in Brussels Tuesday (Jul. 19) by Greenpeace and the Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), says rules surrounding lobbying are "non existent" and is calling for radical changes.
Representing over 140 civil society groups, the ALTER-EU coalition will campaign for a mandatory system of registration and reporting for all European Union (EU) lobbyists, enforceable ethical rules for lobby groups.
Greenpeace and CEO say corporate lobby groups, which include industrial associations, political consultants and cross-industry groups, are gaining "far too much political influence" in the EU decision-making process and warn that such lobbying is often detrimental to the democratic process and undermines the legitimacy of the EU among citizens.
ALTER-EU says such a lack of accountability has resulted in a negative public opinion of the bloc and may have contributed to the French and Dutch rejections of the EU constitution earlier this year.
"The existing voluntary codes of conduct developed by the lobbying firms in Brussels fail to ensure transparency about who lobbies the EU and on whose behalf," Erik Wesselius from CEO, an Amsterdam-based campaign group which monitors the political influence of corporations and their lobby groups, told media representatives at the launch.
"The increase of deceptive lobbying practices, such as pseudo-NGOs established to advocate industry positions, is another reason why transparency and ethics around lobbying cannot be left to voluntary initiatives," he added.
The European Parliament website lists 5,039 accredited lobbyists working for a range of familiar names such as McDonald's and Visa. However, the CEO puts the total number of lobbyists at somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000, and says two-thirds of these represent big business. Lobbyists believed to be worth an estimated 60 to 90 million euros (71.9 to 107.9 million dollars) a year.
In a report 'Lobbying in the European Union: Current Rules and Practices' published in 2003 the European Parliament said more than 70 percent of EU lobbyists work for corporate interests, and only 20 percent represent non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as trade unions, public health organisations and environmental groups.
The remaining 10 percent are sectoral lobby groups promoting the interests of regions, cities and international institutions.
ALTER-EU is also calling for the European Commission, the EU executive, to end the practice of "privileged access", where business interests enjoy a high level of undue influence with senior EU officials.
"The public pays a heavy price for the big-money lobbying that goes on in Brussels, since legislation to improve health and the environment loses out every time," said Jorgo Riss of Greenpeace Europe.
He pointed to the case of the PVC industry.
"Eight years after the EU started addressing the environmental problems caused by 4.1 million tonnes of PVC plastic waste annually, the PVC industry has succeeded in preventing any real progress, and has recruited two senior Commission officials to a public relations exercise that recycles a mere 0.44 percent of this waste," Riss added.
ALTER-EU also wants to see an improved code of conduct for Commission officials to remedy the so called "revolving doors" process, where former high ranking EU employees end up on the payroll of industry lobbyists.
The non-governmental organisations (NGOs) say all European commissioners and other commission officials should be obliged to accept "substantial and well-defined cooling off periods" to prevent such cases.
One example of this is the case of former trade commissioner Leon Brittan (1993-94), who within a year of leaving the Commission became a consultant on World T (END)
