NEW VERSION OF EU TRANSPARENCY REGISTER

A new version of the EU Transparency Register is online since 27 January 2015..This 'second generation' of the Register implements the provisions of the revised Inter-institutional Agreement signed between the European Parliament and the European Commission in April 2014. As of 27 February 2015 there are 7917 registrants in the Register.

The new system brings changes to the way human resources invested in lobbying are declared, requires additional information about involvement in EU committees, forums, intergroups or similar structures, and legislative files currently followed; it also extends the requirement to declare estimated costs related to lobbying to all registrants.

Additionally, a streamlined 'alerts & complaints' procedure allows for greater scrutiny and more efficient treatment of allegedly misleading information, and new incentives are given to increase the added value of registering, such as a requirement to register for all those seeking to meet with Commissioners, Cabinet Members or Directors-General or for any organisation wishing to speak at hearings organized by the European Parliament.

A more user friendly website improves the public interface and provides for a more straightforward registration process with guidance provided in a step-by-step approach.

The Juncker Commission intends to make its own proposal in 2015 for a mandatory register of lobbyists covering the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council. The preparation of this proposal is the responsibility of First Vice-President Timmermans.

On 25 November 2014, the Juncker Commission already gave a boost to transparency by adopting two Decisions requiring publication of information concerning meetings held by Commissioners, members of their cabinets and Directors-General with organisations and self-employed individuals. President Juncker has also clarified that in principle, they should only meet organisations and self-employed individuals which feature in the Transparency Register. The Commission is committed both to increased transparency and to maintaining an open and regular dialogue with stakeholders.

Criticism of Register

• Some of the main groups that are actively lobbying the EU institutions have still not registered in the EU's Transparency Register.
• Too many of the register's entries are unreliable.
• Lobby firms and law firms fail to disclose clients or they mask their identities behind meaningless acronyms.
• Lobby spending and lobbyist numbers are often under-reported and there are far too many implausible entries.
• Some entries are simply absurd e.g.figures declared in register entry are not lobbying expenses, but rather annual turnover.
• Lack of proactive checking by the Transparency Register Secretariat that the entries are accurate and credible.
• The revamped register does not significantly improve the accuracy of the lobby data and does not enable any interested person to really know who is lobbying whom, and how much is being spent on lobbying in Brussels. Despite numerous commitments to improve the poor quality of information in the register, too little has happened and even the most obvious absurd entries have not been corrected.