Social Europe

  • EU Forward Project
  • YouTube
  • Podcast
  • Books
  • Newsletter
  • Membership

Relaunching Europe by transparency

Arthur Moinet 4th June 2020

Myriad lobbyists in Brussels advocate for private interests, especially big corporations. European citizens need a less patchy framework for transparency.

transparency, lobbying
Arthur Moinet

While the influence of lobbies is constantly increasing in Europe, including during the current crisis, lobbying regulation is still clearly insufficient. It must be strengthened to reinforce citizen trust in Europe. 

Nowadays, there are about 25,000 lobbyists in Brussels (of which only 11,000 are officially registered) spending about €1.5 billion is spent every year. The European Chemical Industry Council alone spends €11 million a year, for instance. Some lobbying companies (Fleishman-Hillard, FTI Consulting, Burson-Masteller …) also appear among the most highly valued—an over-representation which is frequently criticised.

In 2013 a survey of European Union citizens found, for example, that over three-quarters of French respondents thought lobbying had too much influence on European institutions. And, faced with the power of these representatives of interests, the European institutions have progressively adopted specific rules to regulate lobbying. 

The first political measure was only taken in 1992, when the European Parliament established its Transparency Register. In 2014, a big step was taken with the new European Commission led by Jean-Claude Juncker: a set of rules reinforcing transparency was adopted. Now, all the commissioners, their cabinet members and all the general directors have to publish their meetings with interest representatives. In addition, all the commissioners should respect a new code of conduct, adopted in February 2018. Finally, in 2019 the European Parliament distinguished itself by setting up a compulsory ‘legislative footprint’ for legislative rapporteurs, allowing citizens to see who was influencing European legislation. 

Problematic issues

Some problematic issues however remain. First, there is a lack of consistency and co-ordination among the EU institutions. If the parliament and commission provide solid guarantees of transparency, this is not yet the case for the Council of the EU nor the European Economic and Social Committee. The European ombudsman recently opened an inquiry concerning the lack of transparency of the council, pointing to a case of ‘maladministration’ in the legislative procedure. Moreover, negotiations to render the Transparency Register mandatory are suspended, while sanctions are not sufficiently dissuasive. 

Secondly, although the European register tracks direct influence (contacts between lobbyists and policy-makers, registration of interest representatives and so on), indirect influence is not recorded. Many firms underestimate their spending in the European register, by excluding some expenses relating to indirect influence—organisation of a conference or advertising campaigns, for instance. In addition, the Independent Ethical Committee, which can formulate advice, remains part of the commission and does not have a real power of sanction. 



Don't miss out on cutting-edge thinking.


Join tens of thousands of informed readers and stay ahead with our insightful content. It's free.



Thirdly, the potential for improvement is real: only a third of OECD countries have established restrictions which ban the ‘revolving-doors’ practice and, more globally, two-in-five have adopted tightened rules about lobbying practices. To address these national disparities, a European approach could be relevant. European rules appear more developed than those in many countries but should be still reinforced, within a new European transparency network.

Beyond a European harmonisation of transparency rules, better co-operation with states should be fostered, to exchange national and European information. If a common agreement were reached between states and European institutions, it would be essential to embed all the transparency rules in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

In addition, a coherent European transparency network is essential to reinforce influence and the power of sanction in the face of big companies. The current ‘transparency movement’ in Europe should be centralised and harmonised, while taking into account national particularities, as an OECD report highlighted in 2012.

European Transparency Authority 

Unifying transparency policies among European institutions and also among states is a priority. At the official level, a European Transparency Authority, which would align and control all the current initiatives led by the European institutions, would be a major step. Such an agency could assess the outcomes of regulation, propose new measures and, not least, enjoy a power of sanction. In particular, it could adopt a common definition of the lobbyist and establish common procedures for registration among all the European institutions. 

The value of sharing experiences, exchanging information and promoting a culture of transparency has already been proven by the ‘Network for Transparency’. This makes it easier to envisage common principles among European countries under ‘a big sister’, as between the European system of central banks and the ECB or interior ministries and Europol. The new agency would incorporate the Authority for European Political Parties and Political Foundations and some of the prerogatives of the European ombudsman. 

We could imagine many restrictive rules being enshrined in the TFEU, particularly inspired by the ten recommendations of the OECD. All these ideas will however require a European consensus to be effectively implemented. The new commission should ready itself to impose it—with, as a prior step, an official conference gathering lobbyist and government representatives to listen to their self-regulation proposals. 

Arthur Moinet

Arthur Moinet is a SciencesPo student and activist. He is treasurer of the Conférence Olivaint, a student association for public debate, and author of L'Alternative lycéenne.

Harvard University Press Advertisement

Social Europe Ad - Promoting European social policies

We need your help.

Support Social Europe for less than €5 per month and help keep our content freely accessible to everyone. Your support empowers independent publishing and drives the conversations that matter. Thank you very much!

Social Europe Membership

Click here to become a member

Most Recent Articles

u4219834dafae1dc3 2 EU’s New Fiscal Rules: Balancing Budgets with Green and Digital AmbitionsPhilipp Heimberger
u42198346d1f0048 1 The Dangerous Metaphor of Unemployment “Scarring”Tom Boland and Ray Griffin
u4219834675 4ff1 998a 404323c89144 1 Why Progressive Governments Keep Failing — And How to Finally Win Back VotersMariana Mazzucato
u42198346ec 111f 473a 80ad b5d0688fffe9 1 A Transatlantic Reckoning: Why Europe Needs a New Pact Beyond Defence SpendingChristophe Sente
u4219834671f 3 Trade Unions Resist EU Bid to Weaken Corporate Sustainability LawsSocial Europe

Most Popular Articles

u4219834647f 0894ae7ca865 3 Europe’s Businesses Face a Quiet Takeover as US Investors CapitaliseTej Gonza and Timothée Duverger
u4219834674930082ba55 0 Portugal’s Political Earthquake: Centrist Grip Crumbles, Right AscendsEmanuel Ferreira
u421983467e58be8 81f2 4326 80f2 d452cfe9031e 1 “The Universities Are the Enemy”: Why Europe Must Act NowBartosz Rydliński
u42198346761805ea24 2 Trump’s ‘Golden Era’ Fades as European Allies Face Harsh New RealityFerenc Németh and Peter Kreko
startupsgovernment e1744799195663 Governments Are Not StartupsMariana Mazzucato
u421986cbef 2549 4e0c b6c4 b5bb01362b52 0 American SuicideJoschka Fischer
u42198346769d6584 1580 41fe 8c7d 3b9398aa5ec5 1 Why Trump Keeps Winning: The Truth No One AdmitsBo Rothstein
u421983467 a350a084 b098 4970 9834 739dc11b73a5 1 America Is About to Become the Next BrexitJ Bradford DeLong
u4219834676ba1b3a2 b4e1 4c79 960b 6770c60533fa 1 The End of the ‘West’ and Europe’s FutureGuillaume Duval
u421983462e c2ec 4dd2 90a4 b9cfb6856465 1 The Transatlantic Alliance Is Dying—What Comes Next for Europe?Frank Hoffer

Eurofound advertisement

Ageing workforce
The evolution of working conditions in Europe

This episode of Eurofound Talks examines the evolving landscape of European working conditions, situated at the nexus of profound technological transformation.

Mary McCaughey speaks with Barbara Gerstenberger, Eurofound's Head of Unit for Working Life, who leverages insights from the 35-year history of the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS).

Listen to the episode for free. Also make sure to subscribe to Eurofound Talks so you don’t miss an episode!

LISTEN NOW

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

Spring Issues

The Summer issue of The Progressive Post is out!


It is time to take action and to forge a path towards a Socialist renewal.


European Socialists struggle to balance their responsibilities with the need to take bold positions and actions in the face of many major crises, while far-right political parties are increasingly gaining ground. Against this background, we offer European progressive forces food for thought on projecting themselves into the future.


Among this issue’s highlights, we discuss the transformative power of European Social Democracy, examine the far right’s efforts to redesign education systems to serve its own political agenda and highlight the growing threat of anti-gender movements to LGBTIQ+ rights – among other pressing topics.

READ THE MAGAZINE

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI Report

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2025

The trend towards significant nominal minimum wage increases is continuing this year. In view of falling inflation rates, this translates into a sizeable increase in purchasing power for minimum wage earners in most European countries. The background to this is the implementation of the European Minimum Wage Directive, which has led to a reorientation of minimum wage policy in many countries and is thus boosting the dynamics of minimum wages. Most EU countries are now following the reference values for adequate minimum wages enshrined in the directive, which are 60% of the median wage or 50 % of the average wage. However, for Germany, a structural increase is still necessary to make progress towards an adequate minimum wage.

DOWNLOAD HERE

S&D Group in the European Parliament advertisement

Cohesion Policy

S&D Position Paper on Cohesion Policy post-2027: a resilient future for European territorial equity

Cohesion Policy aims to promote harmonious development and reduce economic, social and territorial disparities between the regions of the Union, and the backwardness of the least favoured regions with a particular focus on rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition and regions suffering from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, such as outermost regions, regions with very low population density, islands, cross-border and mountain regions.

READ THE FULL POSITION PAPER HERE

ETUI advertisement

HESA Magazine Cover

With a comprehensive set of relevant indicators, presented in 85 graphs and tables, the 2025 Benchmarking Working Europe report examines how EU policies can reconcile economic, social and environmental goals to ensure long-term competitiveness. Considered a key reference, this publication is an invaluable resource for supporting European social dialogue.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Social Europe

Our Mission

Team

Article Submission

Advertisements

Membership

Social Europe Archives

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Miscellaneous

RSS Feed

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641

BlueskyXWhatsApp