Workshop on Lobbying - introduction by Alexander Stubb MEP

Published 18.10.2007

Member of the European Parliament Alexander Stubb will introduce the topic 'Lobbying the European Union' at a workshop in the European Parliament on Monday 8 October. Stubb is also the Parliament Rapporteur on lobbying in the EU. The first draft of his report will be discussed in November in the Committee on Constitutional Affairs.

Currently, the European Parliament has its own register and code of conduct for lobbyists. The Commission will open a voluntary lobbyist register with financial disclosure in spring 2008. Should the Parliament join the Commission's register? Should the lobbying rules be stricter? Should the EU go for the American model?

Alexander Stubb and the European Commissioner for Administrative Affairs, Audit and Anti-Fraud will discuss lobbying with experts and stakeholders in the workshop on Monday 8 October in the European Parliament in Brussels from 15.00 to 18.30 hours in room Anna Lindh (PHS 1A002).

For further information:

Alexander Stubb MEP, Tel: +32-2-2845264

Antti Timonen, EPP-ED Press Service, Tel: +32-474-851831

Programme

Lobbying the European Union

Monday, 8 October 2007

15.00 - 18.30

Brussels, room Anna Lindh (PHS 1 A 002)

15.00 - 15.15 Welcome by the Chairman and introduction by the rapporteur (Alexander Stubb)


Session I  Lobbying in the EU and the USA

15.15 - 15.30 Lobbying in the EU (David Coen, University College London)

Short overview on current lobbying practices in the EU institutions (venues, institutional demands and resources); assessment of the objectives and measures proposed by the Commission in the European Transparency Initiative (ETI)

15.30 - 15.45 Lobbying in the USA (Craig Holman, Public Citizen, Washington, D.C.)

Short overview on lobbying in the US; comments on the ETI with special reference to the experience gained in the U.S. with the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995

15.45 - 15.55 Comments by Siim Kallas; Vice-President of the European Commission

15.55 - 16.15 Debate

Session II  The future for lobbying the European Union - concrete proposals

16.15 - 17.15 Contributions by representatives of different lobbying actors highlighting their particular issues of concern, with special reference to the ETI

BusinessEurope (Philippe de Buck)

BEUC (Jim Murray)

SEAP (Lyn Trytsman-Gray, Kraft Foods)

EPACA (José Lalloum)

Corporate Europe Observatory (Erik Wesselius)

ALTER-EU (Paul de Clerck, Friends of the Earth)

Daimler AG (Hanns Glatz)

CCBE (Thomas Tindemans, White&Case)

17.15 - 18.15 Roundtable discussion

18.15 - 18.30 Closing remarks by the rapporteur