The European Court of Auditors criticized the voluntary transparency register for lobbyists on Wednesday. They would only have to register for planned meetings with the most senior staff of the EU institutions, but not for spontaneous meetings. Telephone conversations and email contacts also do not need to be formally recorded.
This means that the EU Transparency Register is not having the “desired impact”, the auditors criticized. Lobbyists are not required to register for meetings with employees below the level of a general manager.
The register was first introduced in 2011, and the council only joined ten years later. It is voluntary and there are no possibilities for sanctions. However, the register is mandatory in eight Member States, including Austria, the US and Canada. Anyone who violates the lobbying law in this country can expect a fine of up to 60,000 euros.
Deterrent sanctions are necessary
The European Court of Auditors also criticized the EU-wide voluntary nature of this in its report. The Council of Europe recommends “effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions in the event of violations.” Registration alone is also not enough; “The EU Transparency Register should not become a paper tiger,” says accountant Jorg Kristijan Petrovič.
The auditors recommend that the Council, Commission and Parliament have a uniform register, make the website more user-friendly and clear and better control the quality of the data published.
“Catar Gate” 2022
The background is that in December 2022, allegations were made that the Qatari government unlawfully influenced or even bribed former and current EU parliamentarians. This was intended to achieve foreign policy objectives for the benefit of the country. Since then, Parliament has adopted several resolutions on the transparency register, such as stricter access to the EU Parliament or meetings between employees and lobbyists.
So far this is neither systematic nor uniform. About 12,500 lobbyists are registered this year, compared to just 5,500 in 2012.
Source: Krone
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