4 European Transparency
| (27508)
9412/06
COM(06) 194
| Green Paper on the European Transparency Initiative
|
| Legal base | — |
| Document originated | 3 May 2006
|
| Deposited in Parliament | 19 May 2006
|
| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 15 June 2006
|
| Previous Committee Report | None
|
| To be discussed in Council | To be determined
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | Not cleared; further information requested. Relevant to the debate on "A Citizen's Agenda — Delivering results for Europe"
|
Background
4.1 The Commission says that, with a commitment to widen opportunities
for stakeholders to participate actively in EU policy-shaping
as one of the "Strategic Objectives 2005-2009", it launched
a "Partnership for European Renewal".[10]
This emphasised that inherent in the idea of partnership is
consultation and participation and stressed the importance
of a high level of transparency to ensure that the Union
is open to public scrutiny and accountable for its work.
The Commission says "high standards of transparency are part
of the legitimacy of any modern administration" and that
"the European public is entitled to expect efficient, accountable
and service-minded public institutions and that the power and
resources entrusted to political and public bodies are handled
with care and never abused for personal gain". Against this
background, the Commission launched the "European Transparency
Initiative" (ETI) in November 2005.[11]
The Green Paper
4.2 The paper is helpfully summarised in his 15 May Explanatory
Memorandum by the Minister for Europe (Mr Geoffrey Hoon) as follows:
"The report identifies three key components of the ETI which
should be driven forward. Firstly, the need for a more structured
framework for the activities of interest representatives (lobbyists);
secondly, feedback on the Commission's minimum standards for consultation;[12]
and finally the mandatory disclosure of information about the
beneficiaries of EU funds under shared management.
"The report outlines the basic framework on
which the relationship between the EU institutions and lobbyists
should be built. The report describes the following components
as essential: lobbying to be viewed as a legitimate part of the
democratic system; lobbyists can bring important issues to the
attention of the European institutions; undue influence should
not be exerted on European institutions; it must be clear to the
general public which input lobbyists provide, who they represent,
what their mission is and how they are funded; European institutions
have the right to hold internal deliberations without interference
from outside interests; and measures in the field of transparency
must be effective and proportionate.
"The media, academia and interested representatives
have raised concerns about current lobbying practices. Under the
current system the Commission and the European Parliament have
two different systems for lobbyists. The Commission has a voluntary
database (CONECCS)[13]
on European civil society organisations (this is a wide-ranging
definition and includes trade unions and employers' federations,
NGO's, consumer groups, organisations representing social and
economic players, charities and community based organisations).
CONECCS is used as an information source for Commission departments
and the general public but there is no requirement nor incentive
or disincentive for organisations to register.
"The European Parliament has an accreditation
system for all needing frequent access to the institution. A register
of accredited lobbyists is published on their website and provides
their names and states the organisations they represent but gives
no indication of the interests for which the lobbyist is acting.
"The traditional concept at European level has
been to put the onus on the ethical behaviour of the representatives
of the institutions themselves rather than laying down additional
legally binding rules on the conduct of lobbyists. Therefore Members
of the Commission and the staff of European institutions are bound
by strict rules ensuring their impartiality. These rules are enforced
by special monitoring and sanction mechanisms.[14]
"The paper outlines the Commission's framework
for a new system to ensure greater transparency. This consists
of:
"A voluntary registration system: This
would be run by the Commission, with clear incentives for lobbyists
to register. The incentives would include automatic alerts of
consultations on issues of known interest to the lobbyists. The
Commission does not consider a compulsory registration system
would be an appropriate option, however the report does propose
that a review should be conducted to examine whether self-regulation
has worked.
"A common code of conduct: The report
proposes that the code should be developed by the lobbying profession.
"A system of monitoring and sanctions:
The report proposes that they should be applied in all cases of
incorrect registration and/or breach of the code of conduct.
"The report outlines the need to raise awareness
of the use of EU money, notably by explaining better what Europe
does and why it matters. The Commission is responsible for implementing
the EU budget. The Commission already provides information for
the EU-funded policies which it manages centrally and directly.
However, the majority of the EU budget is spent in partnership
with the Member States ("shared management"). The common
agricultural and fisheries policies, the Structural Funds, the
Cohesion Fund and the European Refugees Fund are implemented under
this shared management formula which makes up 75.7% of the EU
budget (€86.6 billion a year).
"EU citizens often turn to the Commission for
information on the use of the EU budget if the information is
not disclosed at a regional or national level. However, the Commission
either does not have the information or does not have the right
to [hand it out] without the prior agreement of the Member State
concerned.
"In order to promote transparency the report
proposes a new EU legal framework, directly applicable in all
Member States, to ensure a consistent approach to all beneficiaries
of EU funds."
The Government's view
4.3 The Minister says that he "supports the
broad thrust of this Green Paper and intends to contribute to
the consultation process". He asserts that the UK has a good
record on EU transparency — "for example, in the case
of the Common Agricultural Policy, the UK already provides information
on beneficiaries of EU funding" — and that "the
UK has for some time been pushing a policy of transparency regarding
beneficiaries of EU funding".
4.4 He notes that the consultation period for the
Green Paper opened on 3 May and closes on 31 August, and that
the Cabinet Office will lead on HM Government's contribution to
the consultation document."
Conclusion
4.5 There is much debate in Europe about "the
democratic deficit", integrity and the need for greater citizen
participation and transparency in formulating policy. Grouping
together around a common concern to exercise influence, and employing
persuasive and well-placed agents, is as old as organised society.
Enabling these forces to interact appropriately with politicians
and officials is central to rebuilding the trust that so many
of Europe's citizens appear to have lost in the policy-making
process and in European institutions.
4.6 Although the Minister's
EM is significantly better in explaining the Green Paper than
his departmental colleague's in explaining the Commission's proposals
on "Europe in the World" (which we examine elsewhere
in this Report),[15]
it is no better explaining the Government's view on the proposals
therein. We do not consider that support for "the broad thrust
of this Green Paper" is adequate, and would instead like
to know what the Minister thinks of the proposals, and what reply
the Government plans to offer. To this end, we attach at Annex
3 the basis upon which the Commission is carrying out the next
stage of consultation.
4.7 Until then, we shall keep
the document under scrutiny, and consider it relevant to the debate
we have already recommended on the Commission Communication on
"the Citizens' Agenda".
10 COM(05) 12. Back
11
SEC(05) 1300. Back
12
The Commission attaches its "General Principles and minimum
standards in detail", which is annexed to this Report (Annex
2). Back
13
CONECCS - Consultation, the European Commission and Civil Society. Back
14
The Commission attaches an annex on Integrity: the EC Treaty and
Staff Regulations, which is annexed to this Report (Annex 1). Back
15
See para 5 of this Report. Back
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