About: Transparency initiative

A penny for your thoughts: MEPs and the revolving door

Losing your seat in the elections can be a devastating blow for an MEP, but there can be a silver lining, especially if you were a member of a prominent parliamentary committee, writes Vicky Cann.

EU’s voluntary-lobbyist-registration policy belies its calls for transparency

Developed countries often lecture states in the developing world about transparency. So it seems the height of hypocrisy that the European Union is not requiring lobbyists to register, writes Giorgi Meladze.

Developing and regulating lobbying in the new EU countries

"Lobbying is still in its infancy" in the ten newest EU member states, but the practice is continually developing as civil society actors recognise the value of participation in the political process, argues Conor McGrath, an independent Dublin-based scholar, in a paper published in the Journal of Public Affairs.

Towards a common register for EU lobbyists

As the number of lobbyists operating in Brussels continues to increase, there are growing calls for their access to the Commission and Parliament to be regulated via a common register, writes former Parliament rapporteur on lobbying and new Finnish foreign minister Alexander Stubb for Europe's World.

Improvements required in the EU public affairs process

Public affairs, or the "interaction of society with its political institutions," is essential to democracy, particularly a 'new' democracy on a continental scale such as the EU, writes Tom Spencer, executive director of the European Centre for Public Affairs (ECPA), in an article for EU Reporter.

Analysis: The European Transparency Initiative Green Paper – Assessing the Evidence

Tom Spencer, executive director of the European Centre for Public Affairs, assesses the latest batch of mixed views on the Commission initiative to enhance transparency at EU level.