NEWS UPDATE
FROM THE GUE/NGL GROUP

Brussels, 08/05/2008

Call for proper control and binding rules for lobbyists

With an estimated 15,000 lobbyists and 2,500 lobby organisations in Brussels as well as 5,000 lobbyists operating in the European Parliament alone, MEPs debated a report on this issue today. Speaking during the debate, GUE/NGL MEP Søren Søndergaard (The Peoples Movement against EU in Denmark) recognised that the report was a “step in the right direction although not a huge one”.

He said action was needed, “not because lobbying is evil but because it has such an enormous influence and it is entirely unacceptable that these activities take place without proper control and binding rules.”

“My group is calling for more stringent checks, a register that guarantees full clarity and full transparency, an ethical code of conduct, including for law firms, to be implemented before the elections in 2009 as well as effective monitoring and visible sanctions for those who breach this code.”

On the issue of financial disclosure, MEP Søndergaard concluded “lobbyists should be obliged to provide the same information on their financial interests as MEPs.”

“Lobbyists are not bogeymen”, said Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann (GUE/NGL, Germany) but legitimate in a democracy and should be part and parcel of the open dialogue that is needed on all issues. “Our duty as legislators is to get broadly informed on all issues and take our information from as many sources as we can. Clearly we require transparency; this is crucial for the credibility of EU.”

Ms Kaufmann called for “clear and strong rules for the three institutions applicable to all lobbyists as well as information revealing where their funding comes from and who is paying them.”