A Commission advisory group has been set up to flesh out proposals to prop up transparency and accountability of EU decision-makers and lobbyists in Brussels. The creation of the group was agreed on 18 May by the 25-strong College of Commissioners.
The group, which draws together officials from all Commission departments, has been asked to examine the feasibility and practical implications of an upcoming transparency initiative outlined by Commissioner Kallas on 3 March (EurActiv, 7 March 2005). The feasibility aspects to be examined will include an assessment of how much more bureaucracy the rules could imply - with the underlying aim of keeping red tape down to a minimum.
The plan outlined by Kallas includes proposals to force the thousands of NGOs, lawyers and professional lobbyists in Brussels to report on the specific interest they represent and how they are financed. It also proposes giving detailed accounts of how EU money is being spent, in particular that granted to NGOs.
But the media spotlight has recently turned on the Commission's own reporting standards after it emerged in April that President Jose Manuel Barroso had spent the summer holiday on a luxury yacht owned by Spiros Latsis, a friend and billionaire, before he took office.
Things got further complicated for Barroso after Belgian daily La Libre Belgique revealed on 18 May that the President's five bodyguards are on a Portuguese and Commission pay-roll at the same time.
