Thursday's Council of Europe call for European governments to be more transparent and responsible in lobbying. This practice is definitely "legitimate", but must be guided by "detailed rules" to avoid corruption.
"It is vital that anti-corruption standard are fully respected," says the Group of States against Corruption, the Council's anticorruption body. It has published a report for 2021, focusing on governments.
El Greco recognizes that lobbying can be a legitimate activity and contribute to democratic processes and informed decision-making. However, he calls for transparency and accountability from European governments regarding this practice.
Greco believes that this would enable citizens to identify "actors seeking to influence political decisions" as well as "reduce (...) corruption risks". This includes the creation of "registers for lobbyists" that indicate the nature of contacts, their identity and the topics discussed.
Marin Marcela, president of El Greco, stated that the public has the right "to know who influences political decisions (...) Governments need to adopt detailed rules to avoid the risk from corruption."
Marin Marcela, however, noted that there was progress in anti-corruption measures being taken by States. He hopes these improvements will be "accelerated", particularly in "fight against corruption targeting parliamentarians" and "fight against corrupt executive functions within the government".
El Greco stated that "the lack of progress in implementing the recommendations concerning parliamentarians continues to be a problem". El Greco stated that only 36% of his "recommendations" had been implemented.
The report discusses "good practices" and cites France as an example. France submits ministerial cabinet appointments to the prior approval of the High Authority for transparency in public life. The President of the Republic and his collaborators who worked in the private sector over the past three years.
Greco was established in 1999 to assist states with identifying their corruption problems. The United States is a member of the Council of Europe as well as the other members.
