#BeersPoliticsEU: "Access Granted. How Transparent is Lobbying in Brussels?"

#BeersPoliticsEU: "Access Granted. How Transparent is Lobbying in Brussels?"

Lobbying is not a dirty word. It is an essential tool in democracies where citizens, companies, civil society bring forward their concerns and contribute to effective policies. Yet without transparency mechanisms, lobbying can turn into undue influence, unfair competition, or even corruption.

The EU Transparency Register was set up in 2011 by the European Parliament and the European Commission. The Council only joined in 2021. This coming July, the Register is up for review.

But is EU lobbying now fully transparent and thus free from interference and corruption? Far from it. The Qatar/MoroccoGate proved otherwise. Recently, the center-right European People's Party (EPP) accuses the European Commission of funding NGOs for “shadow lobbying.”

The forthcoming #BeersPoliticsEU aims to answer some of these questions:

• Who is a 'lobbyist' and what constitutes 'lobbying'?
• Is the current EU Transparency Register fit for purpose?
• If not, what improvements could be made?
• What can one do about unregistered lobbying?
• Why is unregistered lobbying harmful to lobbyists who play by the rules?

With us in the panel are:

• Emma Brown, President, Society of European Affairs Professionals
• Vitor Teixeira, Senior Policy Officer, Transparency expert
• Koen Roovers, Inquiries Officer, European Ombudsman

Moderator: Harold Tor-Daenens, Senior EU Advocacy Expert, Hyperion Tree Digital

• Location: Beer Mania, Chaussée de Wavre 174/176, 1050 Brussels
• Date: Tuesday, 25 March 2025
• Doors open: 17:30
• Time: 18:00-19:00, followed by Q&A plus informal chitchat
• Entrance fee: FREE

About #BeersPoliticsEU
Harold Tor-Daenens is the organiser of #BeersPoliticsEU - a renowned monthly meetup of EU professionals and ordinary citizens to talk about EU policies and politics. It is a voluntary informal setting that allows both EU experts in the Brussels Bubble and citizens to meet and exchange without any institutional sectoral or political baggage.

The format of #BeersPoliticsEU is simple: a speaker or a panel of speakers speak for an hour at most. No powerpoint is allowed. Anyone in the room can interrupt with a question at any point of time. If necessary, the session can be extended by at most 30 minutes of QnA.

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