AFCO II


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Committee on Constitutional Affairs II (AFCO II):

Lobbying the European Parliament (EP) for the common welfare? In the light of discussions about the introduction of a legislative footprint and increased civic participation, what strategy should the EP adopt towards interest representation and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) as legitimate partners in policy-making?

Committee Article

Modern government implies close co-operation with stakeholders from all sectors of society. Civic and producer interests contribute to the perception, presentation and definition of issues in European Union policy-making. While the EU institutions are probably more open to a variety of interests than most national administrations, organisations representing diffused interests tend to be weaker than their counterparts in the sectors of e.g. industry, trade and agriculture. In 2000, about 2,600 interest groups had a permanent office in Brussels, of which European NGOs comprised just about 10%. The non-governmental sector has a crucial role to play in stimulating public deliberation on issues of concern to the general public. What is crucial however to this perspective is that access to the debate is made open and transparent and that no (or reduced) monopolization of influence takes place behind closed doors. Transparency means proactive action: by adding a provision for a legislative footprint that identifies which interest representatives key actors met, received, and heard from, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have a chance to turn the EP into a role model for parliamentary transparency in a pluralistic democracy. Against a backdrop of recent criticism of early agreements negotiated in trilogues behind closed doors, will the EP seize an opportunity to show that it has learnt its lesson, and that it takes seriously its role as guarantor of legitimacy in EU decision-making? How and when will the NGOs be given a chance to gain higher profile as legitimate partners in interest representation for policy-making?

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