Kallas challenges lobbyists to adopt common ethical rules[de] 

The estimated 15,000 corporate lobbyists, professional consultants and NGOs working full-time to influence EU policies in Brussels are being challenged by the Commission's anti-fraud chief to bridge their conflicting cultures and adopt a common set of transparency rules.

Siim Kallas, the Commission's Vice-President and EU anti-fraud chief leaves the traditionally antagonistic worlds of NGO and corporate lobbying with a stark choice - either sign up to a common ethics rule book or leave the Commission to regulate the lobbying industry.

"I don't present any ultimatum. But if people failed to establish a common code of conduct or common principles or to register, then we should go ahead with compulsory rules," he told EurActiv.

However he makes it clear that compulsory registration of all lobbyists in a common database will only be used as a last resort, if they fail to adopt and enforce a common code of conduct.

"My own idea is not to have a compulsory or a mandatory regulation," he says. "Firstly, because if we had mandatory regulation, then it would take years and we would definitely face a lot of legal questions" on how to define who is and who is not a 'lobbyist'.  

Public affairs professionals have repeatedly stated their preference for self-regulation over a mandatory system of transparency rules. In particular, they highlighted the problems which come up when trying to define lobbying organisations if a compulsory registration system is put in place (EurActiv, 7 July 2005). They claim transparency rules, if applied on a mandatory basis, should be applied to everyone, including NGOs.

For their part, NGOs grouped under the ALTER-EU alliance have signalled their readiness to apply a voluntary code of ethics applicable to all lobbyists across the board, including themselves (EurActiv, 26 July 2005).

Assuming these two worlds are actually capable of bridging their cultural differences and adopting common ethical rules, Kallas defines the challenges ahead. "I hope we can create two things on a voluntary basis," he told EurActiv - "some kind of register and some kind of obligation to provide with wider public with information". 

He dismissed recent press reports which indicated that the Transparency Initiative had been delayed because of Commission President Barroso's opposition to the idea of forcing lobbyists to register and disclose information about their sources of funding. "That's not true, he has not expressed anything like that," Kallas said.

As a first step, he indicated that the Commission's existing CONNECS directory of non-profit making civil society groups could be extended to include other organisations. 

Asked about the controversies that broke out in Belgium and the UK over how EU farm subsidies are spent and who benefits from them, Kallas is quick to draw a line. The decision to publish this kind of data, he points out, is "fully in the hands of the member states". 

What he says the Commission could do to improve transparency on CAP end beneficiaries, is to create "some kind of central web portal" where authorised country data would be publicly available.

This platform, he adds, would allow cross-analysis, to check for example "if a given company is 'milking' the system in different countries".  

As a second step, he suggests initiating a debate "to make it an obligation for member states to disclose data about end recipients of EU funds".

The 25-strong College of Commissioners will discuss Kallas's Transparency Initiative on 9 November. 

Click here to read the full transcript of the interview