Expose corporate power in Brussels

More than 15,000 lobbyists roam the EU's corridors of power.

There are no rules regulating their activities.

These lobbyists can work in complete secrecy, influencing important decisions that affect the lives of every European citizen.

Lobbying transparency register

A first step

Years of pressure has finally led to a step towards making the multi-million Euro lobbying business in Brussels transparent and accountable.

The European Commission will launch a voluntary system on 23 June 2008.

The lobbying transparency register will do little to address the secrecy and unaccountability of lobbying in Europe.

The influence of big business

If you're worried about the influence of big business on EU decisions then now's your chance to speak out.

The Commission's system will:

Hide the names of individual lobbyists
Fail to disclose meaningful financial information on lobbying activities

Without knowing how much is being paid to which lobbyists, the Commission's system is virtually useless.

The lobbyists who want to work in secret and hide their commercial and political interests are still free to do so in a voluntary system.

Email President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso

Dear President Barroso,

I write to express my grave concerns over the register for lobbyists that the Commission plans to launch on 23 June. Many thousands of lobbyists roam the corridors of power in Brussels. They can work in complete secrecy, influencing important European decisions that often will affect me directly. As an EU citizen, I want to be able to know more about all of these lobbyists. Specifically: Who they are? What issues do they lobby on? Who do they represent? How much are they paid for their lobbying work? I am deeply concerned that the register that the Commission will launch in June will not provide me with answers to these simple questions. I urge you, as President of the European Commission, to intervene and ensure that the new lobbyists' register provides genuine transparency. The credibility of the Union's approach to transparency, as well as your own towards democracy, will depend on the outcome of this process. I look forward to hearing from you with the concrete steps you will undertake to ensure that the EU lobbyists' register strengthens trust in democratic EU decision making.

You can contact me by email or at the following address:

Title:

First name:*

Surname:*

Postcode:*

Street address 1:

Street address 2:

Town:

Country:

Email address:

Friends of the Earth would like to keep you up-to-date on our work and what you are helping us achieve. If you are happy to receive further communication from us please tick here.

Friends of the Earth is a collective name for Friends of the Earth Trust, registered charity 281681, company number 1533942, and Friends of the Earth Limited, company number 1012357, both of which may use the above information. In both cases the registered office is at 26-28 Underwood Street, London, N1 7JQ.

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