Transparency, ethics, accountability and democracy: the Brussels crisis
Ten years ago in the summer
of 2005 a group of NGOs came together to form the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics
Regulation (ALTER-EU). Back then, the EU's transparency
register did not exist and the secrecy around lobbying in Brussels was
shocking.
If you were to ask one
of the many large consultancy firms in the EU quarter at the time which
multinational companies they were lobbying for, they would simply refuse to
answer. They were able to argue that they had promised their clients
confidentiality and that they had no obligation to be transparent.
Today most lobby
consultancies are registered. They disclose at least some basic information
about their clients and also an indication of how much they spend on lobbying. Whilst
progress has been made, genuine transparency or adequate regulations to prevent
conflicts of interest, undue influence and the capture of decision-making by
narrow economic interests are all still far from being achieved.
The Commission's
typical pattern of reaction to the many lobbying scandals that have emerged
over the last ten years has been first denial and dismissal of concerns, and
then, in some cases, a half-hearted proposal for reforms that do not
effectively solve the problems.
ALTER-EU was launched
when Estonian Commissioner Siim Kallas took Brussels by surprise when he
proposed the setting up of a lobby register. This idea instantly faced heavy
backlash both from corporate lobbyists and from within the Commission itself.
