Lobbiest in the EU

The EU has started a new Lobbyist database to register all lobbiests in the EU.

“Lobbying is a necessary and growing business, and regulation is inescapable,” Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas said.

“I am happy that the profession agrees, and has signalled its readiness to protect its own reputation and help us preserve the legitimacy of our interaction,” he added.

However, anti-lobby lobby Alter-EU complained that because the registry was voluntary it was too weak, defeating its purpose of creating more transparency.

“The commission started off over three years ago with worthy ideas for an EU lobby register, but the end product is proof that commercial lobbyists have excessive influence in Brussels,” Alter-EU campaigner Jorgo Riss said.

“We sincerely hope the commission’s flawed register will quickly be replaced by a better one that ensures real transparency,” he added.

Many of the yes side voted because of an anti-Cute whorism. Believing that the Irish government (Galway races tent and all) is to close to being influenced by vested interests and that not enough is done to make government more transparent. With the belief that Europe is obviously better and therefore worth voting for. But with the amount of lobbyist floating around Europe and far less media scrutiny of their activities and now a voluntary register i.e. crap and the MEP’s expenses row can Europe’s superiority in honesty be taken for granted? See how Eurosceptism is rising.