In mid-December 2020, after almost four years of on-off negotiations, agreement on a joint transparency register, also colloquially known as a lobbying register, was announced. But the deal stretches the definition of mandatory beyond normal uses of the word, Emilia Korkea-aho argues.
By Maarten Hillebrandt
The Lisbon Treaty recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. The Treaty, which laid the fundament for a reformed European Union, entered into force with the promise that European decision making would become more transparent, and therefore more democratic. The tenth birthday makes up a nice moment to consider what has come of these ambitions.
On 1 December 2009, the day that the Lisbon Treaty entered into force, the European Commission released a long memo to journalists. What should they expect from the new treaty? To no-one’s surprise, the memo was obligatorily jubilant. As a concrete example of improvement, the Commission mentioned that the treaty would bring “more democracy and transparency”. The attribution of policy competences and the decision-making process, particularly where it concerned legislation, would henceforth be more visible and understandable for the public at large. Would Lisbon finally draw a line under the dragging transparency debate?
(more…)