Lobbyists want same footprint-rules for all EU institutions

The three main EU institutions should introduce a common register for lobbyists, according to three of the largest lobbying groups in Brussels, despite fears that this could set back plans for new rules to regulate lobbying by up to two years.

The heads of three groups which represent more than 260 public affairs practitioners and 34 consultancy firms wrote to the heads of the three main EU institutions on 8 February saying there should be a "single register of interest representations for all EU institutions". The letter says: "The varying proposals which are currently being debated separately by your institutions will, if implemented in parallel, create confusion and complexity which will fail to provide the required transparency".

The letter, from the Society of European Public Affairs Professionals (SEAP), the European Public Affairs Consultancies’ Association (EPACA) and the European Centre for Public Affairs (EPCA), calls for a "single system" with a "clear legal base and proper impact assessment" and says that there should be an inter-institutional agreement between the three institutions on a single register.

The European Commission is planning to launch its voluntary register for lobbyists in the spring. Public consultation on a draft code of conduct for lobbyists closes this Friday (15 February) and once the Commission has clarified a number of technical issues, such as how to declare a share of income from certain clients, it hopes that lobbyists will start signing up to the new register. The European Parliament is also planning to revise its existing code for lobbyists. Finnish centre-right MEP Alexander Stubb, who is drafting the changes, has called for the Parliament and Commission to work on a common register. But this could take several months to settle, while agreeing a new code using a legal base from existing or future treaty provisions could take up to two years if it underwent the full legislative procedure.

SEAP President Lyn Trytsman-Gray denied that the associations’ common position was an attempt to delay efforts to introduce a new code. But she confirmed that her organisation’s view was that initiatives on individual codes should wait until the institutions could agree a common approach. "The ideal solution is one system even if it takes a little longer," she said. She added that members of her association had thought there was a greater degree of consensus between the Commission and Parliament, but, she said, a hearing in the Parliament organised by Stubb had shown that there was less consensus than the organisations thought.

A Commission spokeswoman said: "It is wrong to say there are varying proposals." She said that there was "no difference between the Commission and Stubb on the need for a one-stop shop". She added that finding a legal base under the treaty could take up to two years to agree.

The three main EU institutions should introduce a common register for lobbyists, according to three of the largest lobbying groups in Brussels, despite fears that this could set back plans for new rules to regulate lobbying by up to two years.