EU lobbyist register boosted by 'market forces'

One year after its launch, the European Commission says pure "market forces" are ensuring its lobbyist register is a success but critics say the refusal to make it mandatory is a fatal weakness as law firms and think-tanks drag their feet in signing up.

With 1,600 entries on the register, representing thousands of individual lobbyists, and a signing up rate of about 30 to 40 a week, the commission says its "voluntary approach (..) has been confirmed by these numbers."

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