On Wednesday 19th November, the College of Commissioners debated greater transparency for the public affairs industry and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and US.
The Commission announced that as of 1 December 2014, all members of the European Commission are expected to make public all contacts and meetings held with stakeholders and lobbyists as the weekly College debate focused on the implementation of the initiative “to assure more transparency when it comes to contacts between Commissioners, their Cabinets and Directors-General on the one hand and interest groups and individuals registered in the Transparency Registry on the other hand.”
At the midday press briefing, First Vice-President of the Commission Frans Timmermans said the executive “will make sure that people we meet will be on the [Transparency] Register” and highlighted that “we want to be fully transparent about the meetings we have; we want to be accountable for everything we do in the Commission”.
The Transparency Initiative was first outlined in the new Commission President’s political guidelines. Jean-Claude Juncker stated “citizens have the right to know with whom Commissioners and Commission staff, Members of the European Parliament or representatives of the Council meet in the context of the legislative process.” He said the “Commission will lead by example”.
The Commission’s announcement was already partly reflected in the working methods adopted by the European Commission on 12 November, which underlined that “a commitment to transparency should characterise the work of all the members of the Commission”.
SEAP, the Society of European Affairs Professionals, welcomed the recent guideline from the European Commission: “as part of an expanded list of ‘Working Methods’, Juncker told his commissioners that ‘as a rule’ they should not meet professional organisations or self-employed individuals that are not listed in the transparency register”.
Dr. Susanna Di Feliciantonio, SEAP President explains: “SEAP has said for some years that the best enforcement of a voluntary register rests with Commission officials and MEPs themselves who should ask the question ‘Are you registered?’ before meeting a lobbyist. SEAP is delighted that the Commission has taken up the suggestion”.
The College also discussed ways of making the negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) more transparent. Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström stated that “lots of documents on the DG Trade’s website open to the public”, but that “more can be done”.