According to a recent report by the European Court of Auditors, lobbyists are essentially unbridled in the European Union despite the existence of a central transparency register meant to be utilized by the European Commission, Parliament, and Council.
The report highlights a lack of strict adherence to the register among EU bodies and points out that lobbyists often intentionally circumvent it, leading to potential corruption.
The auditors criticized the ease with which lobbyists can evade registration, resulting in unlawful influence, unfair competition, and possibly corruption within different EU institutions. While lobbying is recognized as a legitimate democratic tool enabling organizations and individuals to participate in policy and decision-making processes, the problem lies in the transparency register’s avoidance.
HIDDEN LOBBYING UNDERMINES PUBLIC TRUST
In 2021, an agreement was reached by the concerned institutions that registration in the transparency register is a prerequisite for lobbyists to perform certain activities. However, the arrangement does not set minimum requirements for enforcement, allowing institutions to have different applications of the rules, such as loosely defining which lobbying activities require registration and how lobbyists may contact members and staff of the institutions.
This loophole notably included the "Katargate" scandal, where an identified non-governmental organization was not registered but hosted a conference at the European Parliament in June 2022.
Jorg Kristijan Petrovic, the lead auditor of the review, emphasized the need for strengthening the EU transparency register to prevent it from becoming a mere formality. Despite providing useful data on lobbying activities, the transparency register is not a panacea. Many lobbying connections remain hidden from public view, diminishing transparency and impacting public trust.
A THIRD OF ORGANIZATIONS OPERATE IN THE SHADOWS
The audit also criticized the requirement for registration only when meeting with the highest-ranking officials, and only pre-scheduled meetings need to be reported. There is no obligation for an official record of spontaneous meetings, email exchanges, unplanned phone calls, or meetings with staff members below the director-general level.
As a consequence, there’s a risk that non-governmental organizations funded by third parties may not disclose their financial sources by claiming to represent only their or their members’ collective interests – this is the case for a third of registered non-governmental organizations.
LOBBYIST NUMBERS MORE THAN DOUBLE SINCE 2012
Since its establishment in 2012, the number of lobbyists in the EU transparency registry has grown from 5,500 to about 12,500 by 2024. The registration process is voluntary, and recently the European Ombudsman identified administrative malpractice on part of the secretariat operated jointly by the Council, Commission, and Parliament, due to lack of substantial investigations.
In 2019, the effectiveness of ethical frameworks was under scrutiny. A special report concluded that while the institutions examined had largely implemented appropriate ethical frameworks, improvement was needed, notably a common EU ethical framework does not regulate the council representatives’ work from member states.
Previously, the Court of Auditors had examined professional practices and transportation safety, casting a critical eye on both.