Report of the Corporate Europe Observatory – Elementary EU Lobbying
Only a few know that EU laws are edited and finalized by thousands of so-called „responsible”, unknown expert groups, advisory committees and work groups. Even those who continuously follow up on the EU legislation process don’t really know what goes on behind the scenes. All this is a good example of the secrecy surrounding these groups, especially their members.
Since 2000, the number of expert committees has increased by 40%. This proves that this form of decision-making is more important than committee policy forming. According to a scientific report the number of individuals participating in expert committees exceeds 50000. Unfortunately these numbers are only estimates, as membership of these committees is also classified.
Upon pressure from the European Parliament, the European Council has announced their intent to improve the transperancy of these expert committees. The registry of the expert groups has been available on the Internet for years, but as the report of the observatory states, the development has long been overdue. Thus, the European Counsil should end the priviledged access of these expert groups.
Report of the Corporate Europe Observatory can be read here.
