Commission rules out mandatory sign-up to lobby registry

Enough lobbyists have signed up to the European Commission's lobby registry that the currently voluntary system does not need to be made obligatory, according to the commission's first annual review of the transparency scheme.

The commission's Registry of Interest Representatives, more commonly known as the lobby registry, is intended to track all those who try to influence EU decision-making. It has been widely criticised by transparency campaigners for lacking strict reporting standar...