European Commission Interest representation lobbying Lobbying and interest

European Commission Interest representation – lobbying

Lobbying and interest representation EU institutions must operate in an OPEN fashion (principle stated in article 1 of the Treaty on EU) Lobbying and interest representation are both legitimate and necessary. Legitimate because in a democracy, any citizen has the right to be heard by and to express its views to public office holders. Necessary because public authorities need to receive inputs from stakeholders, interested parties, citizens etc. in order to prepare and deliver quality legislation and regulation.

Lobbying and interest representation Examples of acceptable forms Use of official channels and procedures Input in public consultations, green papers etc. Participation in public hearings, consultatives committees Informal initiatives & opportunities Position papers sent spontanously (provision of argumentaries or scientific studies ), Open letters Invitation sent to officials to participate in seminars Communication via the media Various forms of « grassroot lobbying »

Lobbying and interest representation BUT: Lobbying and interest representation must be conducted in TRANSPARENCY : Every citizen has a right to know who is participating in the EU decision making process or engaged in activities aiming at influencing it. The respect of the LAW and of ETHICAL principle. (should not involve bribery, corruption, harassment, undue pressure, etc. )

Commission’s policy main features Commission has a long tradition of openness and interaction with interest representation. It is committed to an open and inclusive policy. Members and officials are bound by strict rules and codes of conduct to prevent corruption. (declaration of interest, limits to presents received, etc. ) It has set up in 2008 a special instrument for transparency « The register of interest representatives » To become next June an insterinstitutional « The transparency Register » shared by both the European Parliament and the Commission

The Transparency Register An instrument for the registration and the monitoring of organisations and self employed individuals engaged in EU policy making and policy implementation. It is based on three components: A volontary public Register available to the public on the Web. A code of conduct to be signed and respected by the registrants A system of complaint and sanctions in the event of breaches of the code of conduct by the regsitrants.

The Transparency Register Who is concerned and expected to register: Professional consultancies and law firms Companies with in house lobbyists, trade & professional associations NGOs Think tanks, academic & research institutions. Organisations representing churches and religious communities. Local, regional & municipal authorities, other public or mixed entities. WHEN ENGAGED IN ACTIVITIES FALLING WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE REGISTER

The Transparency Register On 4 April 2011, there were 3829 interest representatives organisations in the Commission register. Professional consultancies / law firms involved in lobbying EU institutions 246 «in-house» lobbyists and trade associations active in lobbying 1, 812 NGO / think-tank 1, 223 other organisations 548

The Transparency Register ACTIVITIES FALLING WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE REGISTER: All activities carried out with the objective of directly or indirectly influencing the policy formulation or implementation and decision making processes of European Institutions, irrespective of the communication channel or medium used. It may include inter alia: outsourcing, media, contract with professional intermediaries, think tanks, platforms, fora, campaign and grassroot initiatives

The Transparency Register Main information to provide (made public). Coordinates; person legally responsible. Number of people involved in representation activities. Goals, fields of interests, number of staff involved in representation activities. Financial information (For trade associations: an estimate of the cost of activities falling under the scope of the register).

The Transparency Register Registrants sign a code of conduct which includes a commitment to always: identify themselves by name and by the entity(ies) they work for or represent; not misrepresent themselves as to the effect of registration to mislead third parties and/or EU staff; declare the interests, and where applicable the clients or the members, which they represent; ensure that, to the best of their knowledge, information which they provide is unbiased, complete, up-to-date and not misleading; not obtain or try to obtain information, or any decision, dishonestly; not induce EU staff to contravene rules and standards of behaviour applicable to them; if employing former EU staff, respect their obligation to abide by the rules and confidentiality requirements which apply to them.

The Transparency Register Complaint and sanction mechanism Anyone can file a complaint (which supporting material elements) against a registrant suspected of a breach of the code Register secretariat investigates case. If violation is established: Sanctions can be decided (impact on reputation): Temporary suspension from Register. Deletion from the Register.

To know more VISIT THE REGISTER WEBSITE http: //ec. europa. eu/transparency/regrin/