ETI 

The European Transparency Initiative

23 March, 2007

The European Commission is going to set up a new register for lobbyists which will be available from Spring 2008. All groups and bodies will be invited to register publicly whom they represent and what their objectives are. They will be invited to declare funding sources and major clients.

While the system will be voluntary, only those lobbyists who are registered will be recognized as speaking for clients or a sector or industry when they contribute to comments on EU policy that are taken into account when new legislation is drafted. Lobbyists who did not register will only be speaking in their own name, undermining the weight of their comments. Those who gave inaccurate information will face sanctions.

The European Commission foresees a website run by two EU officials that will list all PR consultancies, in-house corporate staff and public interest NGOs as well as their clients and donors and the fees or budgets they receive to influence EU policy.