In an effort to reduce the influence of lobbyists in the European Union, the European Parliament will vote on a report that would regulate their activities, a proposal that has picked up support from MEPS and alarm from the targets. "Today's rules for lobbying date back to a time when the only role of the European Parliament was to give opinions. We clearly need stricter rules now that Parliament has become a powerful legislator," MEP Satu Hassi of Finland, the vice-chairwoman of the parliament's Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee said after a seminar sponsored by the Greens/EFA party in Brussels.
The parliament on May 8 will take up a report prepared by former MEP Alexander Stubb of Finland, who has just been appointed foreign minister of his country. Hassi said, "It is an essential part of democracy that various stakeholders can approach decision makers, but in the current system money buys lobbying power. If you have the finances, you can employ lobbyists to meet MEPs one-toone or invite them to dinners. Among professional lobbyists, the number of business representatives is disproportional compared to citizens' interests groups such as consumer or environmental organisations and trade unions.
"The lack of transparency in lobbying is a key 'democracy deficit.' There is currently no obligation for lobbying organisations to publish their funding and the identity of their clients. Everybody knows that lobbyists are often behind legislative amendments tabled by MEPs, yet it is impossible to fully trace the real sources," she said. The Greens are driving for a mandatory register for all lobbyists starting from 2009 and a public blacklist of those who break the rules and calling for full financial disclosure, which has run into fierce opposition from lobbyists, who have managed to quash restrictive regulations.
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