The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly in favor of tightening rules regulating the 15,000 lobbyists that gravitate around the EU institutions. By an overwhelming majority, EU lawmakers adopted a report recommending a mandatory public register for lobbyists that seek to influence decisions at the European Union's institutions. The decision on Thursday ratifies the proposal made by the European Parliament's constitutional affairs committee on Tuesday, April 1, in favor of the compulsory register for the lobbyists working to influence EU policies via the EU assembly, states and the bloc's executive European Commission. The report, drafted by Finnish conservative MEP Alexander Stubb before he became Finland's foreign minister, also calls for a code of conduct and sanctions for those who flaunt it.
By an overwhelming majority, EU lawmakers adopted a report recommending a mandatory public register for lobbyists that seek to influence decisions at the European Union's institutions.
The decision on Thursday ratifies the proposal made by the European Parliament's constitutional affairs committee on Tuesday, April 1, in favor of the compulsory register for the lobbyists working to influence EU policies via the EU assembly, states and the bloc's executive European Commission.
The report, drafted by Finnish conservative MEP Alexander Stubb before he became Finland's foreign minister, also calls for a code of conduct and sanctions for those who flaunt it.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - MEPs have voted to tighten up the rules governing the lobbyists, requiring those seeking to influence officials in the EU's three main institutions to register themselves and provide income details. The resolution, passed by an overwhelming majority of euro-deputies, suggests that lobbyists have to adhere to a code of conduct and face sanctions, such as being barred from an institution, if they flout the rules. MEPs want the rules to apply to the European Parliament, the European Commission, which is responsible for proposing EU laws, and the council of ministers, which represents member states. Once a lobbyist - defined as anyone "influencing the policy formulation and decision-making processes of the European institutions" - is registered in one of these institutions, then they will be automatically registered in the other two as well, according to the one-stop-shop proposal agreed by the euro-deputies.
