During the last plenary session in Strasbourg before the European Parliament elections take place in May, an overwhelming majority of MEPs confirmed their call for a mandatory transparency register by 2016. On Tuesday 15 April, a total of 646 MEPs voted in favour of the report, while only seven voted against it.
In the report, the EP “asks the Commission to include a proposal […] allowing a mandatory register to be set up in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure”, while in the meantime introducing measures, such as limited meetings with unregistered professionals, to encourage lobbyists to join the register. Further amendments strengthen the Code of Conduct, which the public affairs industry is encouraged to abide by, but introduce a level playing field for all registrants regarding financial information.
The European Public Affairs Consultancies’ Association (EPACA) welcomed the EP’s adoption of the report. Commenting on the report, EPACA’s Chairman Karl Isaksson said: “It is extremely encouraging that the European Parliament continues to support the establishment of a mandatory register. EPACA looks forward to both the implementation of strengthened incentives for registrants and eventually a mandatory register that will help create a level playing field, and to continued cooperation with the European Parliament in putting transparency at the very centre of EU decision-making.”
However, the Society of European Affairs Professionals (SEAP) expressed doubts about introducing a mandatory register. Philip Sheppard, SEAP Vice-President explained: “SEAP believes the register should be about the choice to do the right thing – to be transparent. It should not be about coercion and compliance. Moreover, in this old debate, we have heard time and again about the lack of legal basis and the negative consequences on freedom of access to policy makers that a mandatory register would imply”.
The Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU) reacted positively to the news, claiming that the report “gives an important signal to the European Commission that a far more ambitious approach is needed to secure genuine lobby transparency in the EU”. Olivier Hoedeman of Corporate Europe Observatory, member of ALTER-EU’s steering committee, commented: “The continued transparency boycott by so many large banks and by law firms lobbying for multinational companies shows the voluntary approach has failed. It's high time for the EU to get tough on secretive lobbies”
According to the European Commission, “an estimated 75% of all relevant business-related entities and around 60% of NGOs operating in Brussels have registered. The total number of registered organisations is currently around 6,500.”
The next review of the transparency register is scheduled for 2017.