Letter to Frans Timmermans from 113 NGOs on EU lobby register

The letter makes the following recommendations:

• The Commission immediately extends its ban on meeting unregistered lobbyists so that it applies to all staff, to further boost registrations.
• The Commission makes detailed proposals on the disclosure of additional and more precise information, including expenditure on lobbying activities and further details about the dossiers lobbied on.
• The Commission commits to an open and transparent process with other EU institutions to improve the lobby register, which would include substantial opportunities for input by citizens and civil society.
• The Commission commits to increasing the resources devoted to this area so that monitoring and enforcement of the rules can become far more effective.
• The Commission commits to including the objective of a lobby register that is legally-binding on lobbyists and thus truly mandatory (requiring legislation) in its proposed Inter-Institutional Agreement as a medium-term option to ensure that all EU lobbyists sign up.