Mr Kallas, the Commissioner for administration, audit and anti-fraud, announced a Commission initiative to bring more transparency in the European political decision-making process on 3 March 2005. The focus is to: ‘Increase financial accountability' and to ‘Strengthen personal integrity and institutional independence.' This should contribute to transparency of the institutions and to transparency of interest groups, that lobby the institutions. Several corporations fund PR firms who establish front groups to lobby for the corporation's interests. The Commission's initiative therefore is laudable.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/commission_barroso/kallas/transparency_en.htm
NGO Coalition argues for transparency initiative
The Alter-EU (Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation) NGO coalition group has argued for more transparency and accountability of corporate lobby groups. For more information at the following link http://www.alter-eu.org/
EPSU contribution: Commissioner, do not succumb to corporate interests
Our daily experience teaches us that corporate lobbying needs to be more transparent. The influence of money over the European decision-making process is to be curbed. The USA has stronger lobbying regulations than the EU. EPSU calls on the Commissioner to stick to his original and courageous approach in the light of media reports and letters from PR groups that indicate that the Commission aims to water down its proposals. There also appears to be a shift away from a focus on the PR groups and corporations to NGOs. EPSU points out the big gap in financial resources between corporate interests and NGOs.
Commission reponse
The Commissioner response is of the seems to confirm that there is a shift away from the money interests to NGOs. Read the Commission response.
EPSU agrees with NGO's call for concrete measures on corporate lobbying
Following the disappointing response by the Commissioner and continued media reports about the Commission giving in to corporate lobbyists EPSU has signed the Alter-EU (Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation) NGO coalitions open letter.
http://www.corporateeurope.org/mediacoverage.html, http://www.corporateeurope.org/lobbydebate.html.
"Ending corporate privileges and secrecy around lobbying in the European Union" ...sign and help us to curb Brussels lobbying jungle...
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