FacebookXInstagramYouTubeEmailWhatsAppLinkedIn
6 Dec 2022

Not all Expression is Lobbying

2023-01-11T12:13:43+01:00

Submission to OECD Consultation on Lobbying and Influence Madrid, 6 December 2022 – In its analysis of the draft OECD Recommendation on the regulation of lobbying and influence, Access Info has warned of the risk of some governments using the proposed provisions to limit media freedom and freedom of expression in the name of regulating “influence” and ensuring that public officials are “shielded from undue influence”. In the full version of its submission to the consultation on the OECD Recommendation on Transparency and Integrity in Lobbying and Influence (hereinafter “Draft Recommendation) [1], Access Info highlights concerns about the broad

Not all Expression is Lobbying2023-01-11T12:13:43+01:00
14 Feb 2022

Access to meetings calendars? Access Info submits Amicus Curiae Brief to the European Court of Human Rights

2022-03-11T11:57:13+01:00

Madrid / Strasbourg, 14 February 2022 – There is strong comparative evidence from across Europe that national access to information laws apply to the meetings calendars of senior public officials according to a submission made by Access Info to the European Court of Human Rights. This evidence has been presented in the form of an Amicus Curiae (“friend of the court”) Brief submitted in relation to the case of Citizens Network Watchdog Poland vs. Poland currently under consideration by Europe’s top human rights court. This case arose when the organisation Watchdog Poland requested the calendars of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal

Access to meetings calendars? Access Info submits Amicus Curiae Brief to the European Court of Human Rights2022-03-11T11:57:13+01:00
14 Jun 2019

European Ombudsman: European Commission was wrong to withhold its legal advice on the future Lobby Register from Access Info

2020-01-29T10:39:42+01:00

Madrid, 14 June 2019 – The European Ombudsman has found the European Commission guilty of maladministration for not releasing to Access Info the Commission’s legal advice on the reform of the European Union’s register of lobbyists, known as the Transparency Register. Today’s decision by the Ombudsman comes after a three-year tussle over whether or not Access Info should have been provided with the Commission’s analysis about the legal basis for regulating lobbying in Brussels, the world’s second largest lobby capital after Washington. The initial request for information was made by Access Info in May 2016 at the height of discussions

European Ombudsman: European Commission was wrong to withhold its legal advice on the future Lobby Register from Access Info2020-01-29T10:39:42+01:00
4 Feb 2019

Members of European Parliament vote for transparency about who lobbies them

2020-01-29T11:06:57+01:00

With a difference of four votes, there is now more transparency in lobbying of Members of the European Parliament. The European Parliament voted for MEPs to publish online information about meetings with lobbyist on 31 January 2019. The vote had to be approved by at least 376 votes for an amendment to its Rules of Procedure. With a total of 630 members of the European Parliament, 380 were for the proposal, 224 against, and 26 abstained. Now whenever members of the European Parliament interact with lobbyist their scheduled meetings and notes must be published online. For more information: https://sven-giegold.de/groundbreaking-success-lobby-transparency/   

Members of European Parliament vote for transparency about who lobbies them2020-01-29T11:06:57+01:00
28 Jul 2017

Ombudsman asked to investigate refusal to publish legal advice on the legal basis for EU lobby register

2018-11-13T10:03:18+01:00

Madrid/Brussels, 28 July 2017 – With upcoming negotiations on reforming the state of EU lobbying transparency imminent, the legal advice given to the Commission and Council on the legal basis for lobby reform is back under the spotlight following appeals this week to the EU Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly. Access Info Europe's and MEP Dennis de Jong's parallel complaints to the EU watchdog challenge the refusals by the two institutions to make transparent their legal advice on whether or not it’s possible under the EU Treaties to set up a mandatory EU lobby register with sanctions. “Civil society and MEPs are

Ombudsman asked to investigate refusal to publish legal advice on the legal basis for EU lobby register2018-11-13T10:03:18+01:00
17 Mar 2017

Parliament inaction on lobby transparency could sink register reform

2018-11-13T10:03:40+01:00

[Article first published by the ALTER-EU] Madrid/Brussels, 17 March 2017 - The European Parliament must do more to improve lobby transparency, 100 civil society organisations urged in an open letter published today. MEPs were warned that the European Commission's current proposal for a revised EU Transparency Register would allow for even less scrutiny than the existing one, and that to champion greater transparency across all EU institutions, they must start with their own house first. A few weeks before Commission, Parliament and Council are expected to start negotiating a revision of the joint EU Transparency Register, the Alliance for Lobby

Parliament inaction on lobby transparency could sink register reform2018-11-13T10:03:40+01:00
20 Feb 2017

Commission data reveals lobby transparency loopholes and corporate bias

2018-11-13T10:03:42+01:00

[Article first published by ALTER-EU.] President Juncker´s proactive transparency policy continues to fail to address loopholes in lobbying transparency rules and does not ensure balanced stakeholder consultation, according to a new analysis by the Alliance for Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU). Brussels/Madrid, 20 February 2017 - ALTER-EU criticised the loopholes in the Commission’s policy on lobby transparency after its latest research exposes that 81 per cent of lobby meetings with DG FISMA between January and July 2016 fell outside the current proactive transparency obligations. These meetings (held only with lower-level officials) are not subject to the Commission’s disclosure regime and

Commission data reveals lobby transparency loopholes and corporate bias2018-11-13T10:03:42+01:00
30 Sep 2016

Formal complaint to President Juncker on Barroso, Kroes and De Gucht revolving door cases filed by ALTER-EU

2018-11-13T10:03:59+01:00

[UPDATE - 8 November 2016 - On 2 November 2016 ALTER-EU responded to the Ad Hoc Ethics Committee opinion which said Barroso’s new role at Goldman Sachs International was not a breach of the rules. Read the statement here.] [UPDATE - 13 October 2016 - On 12 October 2016 ALTER-EU handed over to to Secretary-General Alexander Italianer the 63,000 signatures gathered through the WeMove petition Barroso, don’t sell our public interest to Goldman Sachs, demanding greater ethics and transparency and to put a stop to revolving doors.] Madrid-Brussels, 30 September 2016 - The Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU)

Formal complaint to President Juncker on Barroso, Kroes and De Gucht revolving door cases filed by ALTER-EU2018-11-13T10:03:59+01:00
28 Sep 2016

ALTER-EU reaction to Commission’s announcement on transparency register

2018-11-13T10:10:35+01:00

Madrid/Brussels, 28 September 2016 - The European Commission has today published its proposal for a new inter-institutional agreement on the lobby transparency register [1], and the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU) makes the following reaction: "The Commission’s response is too little too late. If you look at the political situation in Europe, the Commission should do its utmost to regain public trust. People want to know who their leaders are really working for, especially in the light of the scandals of former Commissioners Barroso and Kroes taking on high-level jobs with big multinational companies. This could have

ALTER-EU reaction to Commission’s announcement on transparency register2018-11-13T10:10:35+01:00
26 Sep 2016

Media Briefing: Busting the spin on lobby transparency

2018-11-13T10:03:59+01:00

Madrid, 26 September 2016 - The Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU) has published a recap briefing for journalists about the limitations to the current EU lobby transparency register regime, in preparation for the expected proposal on a new register following a College of Commissioners meeting on 28 September. The briefing by ALTER-EU, of which Access Info Europe is a steering committee member, addresses questions such as will the new register be "mandatory" in reality? Will the Commission get to grips with the current lobby register's problem with dodgy data? And what is the added value of bringing

Media Briefing: Busting the spin on lobby transparency2018-11-13T10:03:59+01:00
Original content developed by Access Info Europe and is made public under a Creative Commons Attribution, Share Alike licence.