The Evaluation of Lobbying Regulations in the EC and the EP According to the Project of International Standards of Non-Governmental Organisations

Abstract

The current lobbying regulation system in the EU (the EP and the EC), in theform of the official documentation, lacks in many ways according to theproject of International Standards for Lobbying Regulation. According tothis project, the system is the strongest in its regulatory scope andtransparency, and the weakest in the areas of oversight, sanctions, andintegrity. The outcome of our analysis is in accordance with the EU’svoluntary and self-regulatory system. The analysis has also shown that theEuropean Commission fulfils over 50 % of the established standards. Incontrast, the European Parliament fulfils less than 50 %. There is definitely alarge space for improvement for both of these EU institutions, especially inthe areas of integrity, participation, and access. The main problems of theUnion regulation are inconsistency, a voluntary transparency register, theinsufficiency of the data provided in the register, the absence of anindependent oversight institution and stricter sanctions, and the lenient useof legislative footprints.