Madrid - This Wednesday, Vice-President Timmermans, responsible for transparency and better regulation, challenged the European Parliament and Council to follow the Commission's lead on lobby transparency. The statement was made after the college of Commissioners debated Jean Claude Juncker's promised to proactively publish information about meetings with lobbyists. The European Commission has announced that, as of 1 December 2014, EU Commissioners, all cabinet staff and high level officials such as Directors General will implement a series of initiatives which, according to Vice President Timmermans, include “full transparency” on Commissioners' agendas and proactive publication of lobby information so that citizens can

Madrid, 7 October 2014 - As MEPs prepare to interview vice-president-designate Frans Timmermans, the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU), of which Access Info is a steering committee member, is calling on Mr Timmermans to make the introduction of a mandatory lobby register his priority. Timmermans has been handed the portfolio of 'better regulation' and will also act as Jean-Claude Juncker's deputy. His role will include work to coordinate transparency matters across the Commission and to bring forward the proposal for a mandatory lobby transparency register, to which Juncker committed himself in his own parliamentary hearing in July.

Madrid, 16 July 2014 - Access Info Europe welcomed the commitment made today by new European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to transparency of decision making, particularly with respect to lobbying and international trade negotiations, and to enacting a mandatory register of lobbyists. The commitment by Juncker at his confirmation hearing in the European Parliament included specific references to transparency during all steps of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations, something which Access Info Europe along with over 250 civil society groups have been calling for since the negotiations began. Following the speech, Access Info made a request through

Brussels, 15 July 2014 - Access Info Europe as part of ALTER-EU is calling upon Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to ensure that improvements in the area of lobby transparency, conflicts of interest, and ethics are placed high on the agenda of the new European Commission, as they prepare to quiz its president-elect Jean-Claude Juncker today. During the recent EU elections, 177 elected MEPs signed ALTER-EU's Politics for People pledge in which they committed to “stand-up for citizens and democracy against the excessive lobbying influence of banks and big business” upon entering office. “Our opinion poll showed 73% of

Madrid, 26 de junio de 2014 - Hoy a las 19h se presenta en el Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales de Madrid el libro realizado por el Foro Empresarial APRI, El Lobby en España ¿asignatura pendiente?, publicado por la editorial Algón Editores. Access Info Europe colabora en el libro con un capítulo dedicado a las puertas giratorias. Se trata de una obra colectiva que analiza el papel de los lobbies, su necesidad, los costes públicos de su ausencia, las alternativas de su regulación o los efectos cuando esta no existe, en un intento serio y profesional de desmitificar uno

Madrid, miércoles 21 de mayo 2014 – La campaña ‘Politics for People’, que busca el compromiso de los futuros miembros del Parlamento Europeo para apoyar la regulación y la transparencia del lobby, ha resultado en un gran éxito en España, donde 116 candidatos han firmado para “defender a los ciudadanos y la democracia contra la influencia excesiva de los lobbies de los bancos y las grandes empresas”. España se posiciona así como el tercer país europeo con el mayor número de firmas, abarcando el 10% de un total de 1100 candidatos comprometidos. Alemania, con 250, y Austria, con 157, son

Madrid, 12 de mayo de 2014 – Con el fin de animar a los candidatos al Parlamento Europeo a asumir el compromiso de defender el interés público en contra del excesivo lobbying a favor del interés privado, la campaña 'Politics for People' lanzará el #TweetYourCandidates Day (el día de twittea a tus candidatos) este miércoles 14 de mayo de 2014. En estos momentos, más de 1000 candidatos al Parlamento Europeo han firmado el compromiso; pero aún hay muchos pendientes de hacerlo. Sólo tendrás que mandar un tweet a un candidato o candidata no-firmante pidiéndole que firme el compromiso para defender

Madrid, miércoles 24 de abril 2014 - Su apoyo a un registro de lobby en la Unión Europea ha sido el mensaje de los candidatos al Parlamento Europeo en el debate abierto sobre transparencia y regulación del lobby celebrado en Madrid ayer, día 23 de abril, por Access Info Europe. Este evento dió una oportunidad única a los ciudadanos para hacer preguntas directamente a los candidatos, bien de manera presencial o bien a través de Twitter. Las respuestas demostaron las diferencias de opinión entre los candidatos veteranos, Salvador Garriga (PP) y Enrique Guerrero (PSOE), ambos eurodiputados en activo, y los

Parliament issues strong call for EU lobby transparency register to become mandatory » Strongly-worded resolution first shot in battle with Commission over weak voluntary register Brussels, 15 April 2014 – The report approved by MEPs today gives an important signal to the European Commission that a far more ambitious approach is needed to secure genuine lobby transparency in the EU. The European Parliament resolution makes a clear and explicit call upon the Commission to prepare a legislative proposal for a mandatory register, setting a deadline of 2016. It also asks the Commission to, in the meantime, introduce ambitious measures to

» Numerosas organizaciones de la sociedad civil procedentes de toda la Unión Europea coordinan esta campaña, lideradas por la coalición ALTER-EU [1] » Se pide el compromiso de los candidatos a eurodiputado para defender a los ciudadanos frente a la excesiva influencia del lobby Madrid, 15 de abril de 2014 - Hoy Access Info Europe, con vistas a las elecciones europeas del 25 de mayo y como parte de una amplia coalición de organizaciones de la sociedad civil, lanza la campaña 'Politics for People'. Esta iniciativa, dirigida a los candidatos y candidatas a eurodiputado o eurodiputada, busca conseguir sus firmas