Friday

29th Mar 2024

Razor-edge victory for more lobbying transparency at EP

  • Centre-right MEPs raise their hands to vote against allowing the public to know the lobbyists they meet. (Photo: EUobserver)

Centre-right and liberal MEPs at committee level in the European Parliament on Thursday (6 December) broadly voted against new rules to boost transparency in the institution.

However, their objections were overturned and outvoted by other MEPs in the constitutional affairs committee (AFCO), in a surprise, razor-edge, result.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • EPP voting list on rules of procedure (Photo: EUobserver)

The new rules require committee chairs and others given special tasks to draft reports, known as rapporteurs, to publish online all scheduled meetings with lobbyists.

It also requires parliament to tweak the personal home pages of MEPs so that they can publish their monthly expense accounts, if they so choose to.

Another compromise text that would require MEPs to only meet registered lobbyists was dropped - posing questions on whether a mandatory joint EU transparency register, demanded by the European Commission, will ever see the light of day.

The latest rule change still requires an absolute majority backing (ie of at least 376 MEPs) in a plenary vote scheduled for January before it becomes official.

"The result today was a step in the right direction towards more open and responsive politics, but this is far from over," said Vitor Teixeira, a policy officer at the Transparency International Brussels office.

He said MEPs must now support the amendments in plenary, noting it "as opportunity to finally address issues around lobbying and corporate influence in Brussels."

The amendments were part of a larger report drafted by British socialist Richard Corbett on the so-called rules of procedure.

Thursday's vote was done by hand, making it difficult to trace which particular MEP voted for which measure.

Centre-right MEPs raised their hands to vote against requiring committee chairs and others to publish their meetings with registered lobbyists.

But slight confusion over the counting meant they resorted to an electronic vote, resulting in 10 votes against from the centre-right and liberal MEPs. Eleven other MEPs voted in favour, passing the amendment by a single vote.

The voting had initially been scheduled to take place last month but was delayed following a late opinion by the parliament's legal service.

Exclusive

EU parliament to renege on transparency promises

Internal legal European parliament documents circulated Tuesday, and seen by EUobserver, rule it illegal to force MEPs to meet only registered lobbyists. The opinion will likely render a larger effort to create a mandatory register for lobbyists null and void.

Centre-right MEPs want transparency vote to be secret

A number of centre-right MEPs are pushing for a secret ballot on a plenary vote that would make EU lawmakers more transparent and accountable to the public - in a move described as "absurd" by Transparency International.

Opinion

Why Brussels' toxic lobbying culture must end

What is revelatory about the study by Corporate Europe Observatory is the sheer number of embassies, committees and advisory groups that lobbyists can target: from the Council all the way down to standing committee on plants, animals, food and feed.

Opinion

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us