European Lobbying Transparency Cyber Action PDF Print E-mail

ImageThe pressure group ALTER EU is running a campaign to highlight the need for more openness in EU decision  making:


  • Do you know that today over 15.000 lobbyists roam the corridors of power in Brussels?
  • Do you know that there are no rules regulating their activities?
  • Do you know that these lobbyists can work in complete secrecy, influencing important decisions that affect the lives of every European citizen, including you?
  • Do you think this is fair or democratic?

 

As Brussels assumes more and more power over our daily lives, we know less and less about what really influences decision makers in Europe. Lobbying in Brussels is secretive and unaccountable. This has to change. One way to shed some light on the activities of EU lobbyists is to force them to declare who pays them and how much they are paid to influence which EU policies and laws. A simple register with this information, available to the public, would make a real contribution to openness and accountability.

After years of pressure by public interest groups to make the multi-million lobbying business in Brussels transparent and accountable, the European Commission is now proposing a weak system of self-regulation that will do little to address the secrecy and unaccountability of lobbying in Europe. The Commission plans to set up this voluntary register for lobbyists in late June.

Everybody who cares about democracy in Europe should be very concerned that the European Commission is unwilling to demand real transparency from EU lobbyists. Everybody who is worried about the influence of big business on public policy should make their voices heard. The time to act is NOW! Write to the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and demand real transparency in EU lobbying!

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