International

The European Commission has some nine hundred separate expert advisory groups, from which its officials receive information which they use in the writing of legislation or in supervising its implementation. Traditionally these groups have been dominated by lobbyists from major corporations. I have been trying for years via an informal dialogue with the Commission to bring about more transparency and a more balanced composition of these expert groups, so that for example consumer groups and environmentalist organisations, trade unions and representatives of small businesses could get a look in. The Commission has now agreed to take a fresh look at the whole kit and caboodle. It’s important not to pop the champagne corks just yet, but in my view there really are going to be some changes for the better.

In the European Parliament I have been named rapporteur on this subject. This means that I will be writing a report to which others will be able to present amendments, a report which eventually the EP will adopt as a policy resolution. The Commission evidently felt itself to be under so much pressure that it has in the meantime decided that it is going to rewrite the rules for the expert groups for itself. The fact that the European Ombudsman also made a series of recommendations undoubtedly played a role too, as did the persistent pursuit of the Commission by lobbying watchdogs such as ALTER-EU and Transparency International.

The Commission, and in particular the Commissioner responsible for such matters Frans Timmermans, will now want to get things done as quickly as possible in order that the rules will already have been amended before I’ve been able to complete my report, let alone have it adopted by the EP. In order to prevent it arriving, as we say in Dutch, ‘like mustard after the meal’, I’ve agreed that next week we will make a start on the discussion of my recommendations which I’ve already laid out in a working document. If this dialogue goes well, and the new rules take my demands into account, we’ll be able to talk in terms of a real breakthrough.

If it proves impossible to reach an agreement, members of the Budget Committee are prepared to freeze the expert groups’ funds, either completely or in part. Better no expert groups at all than bad expert groups. I am, however, confident that via an improved public register we’ll soon be able to keep a close eye on everyone who participates in these expert groups and what’s being discussed in each of them. This doesn’t mean, in any case, that we can relax our vigilance over the corporate lobbyists, who can, after all, also talk with Commission officials in completely informal meetings such as working groups. For that reason I’ll continue cooperating intensively with the aforementioned NGOs. Together we’ll be able step by step to reduce the extent to which Brussels is the plaything of the multinationals. And at the very least we’ll be able to ensure that the ins and outs of what these lobbyists get up to become more visible. The eventual aim is that everyone in Europe will be able to see by whom politicians in Brussels are being influenced. So a great deal more is still needed, such as an effective transparency register and what’s known as a ‘legislative footprint’, showing which organisations have had influence of which measures. But we’re also working on that, and we’re making progress there too. In short, along with all the crises gripping the EU, for once there’s a bit of good news.