MOSCOW ANTI-CORRUPTION SUMMER SCHOOL, JULY Carl Dolan, Director, Transparency International EU

TRANSPARENCY INT’L EU OFFICE

We represent the TI movement in our engagement with EU We advocate for EU anti-corruption laws and policies We advocate for more accountable and transparent EU institutions WHAT DO WE DO?

WHICH EU INSTITUTIONS?

“Control” institutions, e.g. - European Court of Justice - European Court of Auditors - European Ombudsman Regulatory and executive agencies, e.g. -European Medicines Agency -European Banking Authority THAT LEAVES OUT

EU CORRUPTION RISKS? Large volume of legislation… 1071 (Legislative acts passed ) There is a lot of money involved… 140 bn € Annual EU budget Trust in EU institutions is low… 70% of EU citizens think corruption exists in the institutions 52% don't think institutions help in reducing corruption

-revolving door -conflicts of interest -undue influence of lobbyists -unequal access to decision-makers Volkswagen scandal has them all… NEW FORMS OF POLITICAL CORRUPTION

CASE STUDY: CAR CO2 EMISSIONS

CASE STUDY: CAR CO2 EMISSIONS F B

CASE STUDY: CAR CO2 EMISSIONS F E

Daniel Freund, Transparency International EU - Integrity System Study -Regional Reports -Policy Recommendations -EU Integrity Watch TI EU TOOLKIT

Daniel Freund, Transparency International EU TI EU TOOLKIT -Integrity System Studies - Regional Reports -Policy Recommendations -EU Integrity Watch

Daniel Freund, Transparency International EU - Integrity System Studies -Regional Reports - Policy Recommendations -EU Integrity Watch TI EU TOOLKIT

Daniel Freund, Transparency International EU -Integrity System Studies -Regional Reports -Policy Recommendations - EU Integrity Watch TI EU TOOLKIT

NATIONAL INTEGRITY SYSTEM (NIS)

NIS: FRAMEWORK & METHODOLOGY

The Subject 10 EU institutions 4 ‘core’: European Parliament, Council of Ministers, European Commission + European Council 6 ‘control’: Court of Justice of EU, European Court of Auditors, OLAF, Europol & Eurojust, European Ombudsman WHAT DOES THE EUIS STUDY ASSESS? (I)

POSITIVE FINDINGS: OVERALL SYSTEM General rules provide good foundation to support integrity, transparency and accountability e.g. EU Financial Regulation Internal financial controls at all institutions Staff regulations on ethics and expected conduct Legal right of public access to documents Mechanisms for investigating maladministration, fraud, corruption and mechanisms for judicial oversight and review

POSITIVE FINDINGS: OVERALL SYSTEM Growing sensitivity to ethics issues and anti-corruption Commission ‘ ethics correspondents ’ in each department Anti-fraud strategies at dept level being developed with OLAF Ethics trainings for staff e.g. at ECA, COM Ombudsman’s ‘ Public Service Principles ’

But despite the good foundation, the structure is shakier than expected due to complex rules, complacency, and lack of follow-up by the institutions, meaning corruption risks persist at the EU level …for example… ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

1,549 trilogue meetings from but no public record 25,000 lobbyists in Brussels but no mandatory rules on contact or input 79% of documents requested from EP in 2012 were already public: concerns on quality and usability of information published by institutions 1. TRANSPARENCY IN DECISION- MAKING

Poor management of conflicts of interest; complex/inconsistent ethics rules Checks on asset declarations largely a ‘ box-ticking ’ exercise Self-regulation the norm: ethics committees lack independence and teeth 3 years, 18 months, or… ‘cooling’ off periods vary by institution 2. ETHICS AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Weak protection for EU whistle-blowers 1 out of 10 institutions has internal whistle-blowers procedures despite legal duty on staff to report illegal/unethical activity 3. WHISTLEBLOWING

Weak sanctions for corrupt companies 7 companies banned (debarred) from EU public procurement at end 2013 due to evidence of corruption 30 EU actors banned by World Bank between FINANCIAL CONTROLS

5. INVESTIGATING CORRUPTION Poor follow-up to corruption investigations 46% of cases passed on by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) to national law enforcement authorities followed up

LOBBYING IS NOT A PROBLEM… “Lobbying provides useful information and opinions to political representatives and public officials. It is not, therefore, a morally questionable activity, but an important element of the democratic debate and decision-making process.” Transparency International, 2009 “Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds…” International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

URGENCY OF REFORM Multiple scandals at EU and national level feed perception that lobbying is associated with corruption. 60% of citizens across Europe consider their country’s government being run to a large extent or entirely by a few big interests (TI GCB, 2013) 8 out of 10 European companies consider the links between business and politics being too close in their country and leading to corruption. (EU anti-corruption report, 2014) 4 out of 5 legislators, 90% of lobbyists think inappropriate influence peddling takes place, and 1 in 3 legislators consider it a frequent problem. (OECD report, 2014)

LOBBYING: OUR DEFINITION …Any direct or indirect communication with public officials or representatives with the purpose of influencing public decision-making…

UNDUE INFLUENCE: OUR DEFINITION …Undue influence occurs when particular individuals or groups gain an unfair advantage over public decision-making at the expense of the public interest. This can particularly occur when decision-making is opaque, when public officials or third parties act unethically, or when access to political system is skewed in favour of select interests…

19 countries + 3 EU institutions 65 indicators measuring… 3 dimensions of lobbying: transparency, integrity and equality of access BACKGROUND

KEY FINDINGS

TRANSPARENCY MEASURES Lobby Register Legislative Footprint: meetings + input

INTEGRITY MEASURES Cooling off periods Codes of conduct for public officials Codes of conduct for lobbyists

EQUALITY OF ACCESS MEASURES Equality in consultations for citizens, interest groups and corporate bodies Publish the results Publish all calls for applications to sit on advisory/expert groups

MANAGING RISKS Robust Regulation Complimentary voluntary mechanisms (e.g. code of conduct) Strong watchdogs (citizens, CSO & media)

EU INTEGRITY WATCH

DECLARATIONS OF FINANCIAL INTERESTS

FINDINGS: -53% with external activities -Total: 5.8m to 18.3m / year -9 MEPs earn 10,000+ EUR activities including “freelancer”, “consultant” and “MDNA” EU INTEGRITY WATCH

OUTCOMES: -Over 100 updated declarations -65,000 visitors -Press coverage -Revision of rules planned RECOMMENDATIONS: -More information -Meaningful checks -Sanctions EU INTEGRITY WATCH

EC TRANSPARENCY INITIATIVE

EU INTEGRITY WATCH 2.0

9,211 9,198 25,000+ €1.5bn+ EU INTEGRITY WATCH 2.0 Meetings Lobby Organisations Lobbyists EU Lobby Budget Key findings

COMPANIES WITH HIGHEST LOBBY BUDGETS

COMMISSION HOTSPOTS

EQUALITY OF ACCESS BY PORTFOLIO

THE NEW TRANSPARENCY RULES

50%+ of organisations registered do not provide meaningful information in their entries on the Transparency Register 4,253 complaints 3 vs 9,116 staff of the secretariat vs lobby organisations in comparison to 28 vs 3,230 in Canada. Ratios: EU 1/3,039 vs CA 1/115 POOR DATA QUALITY

Public Consultation just finished in preparations of upcoming negotiations for a new EU Register Joint letter Lobbyists for Transparent Lobbying Petition already signed by 67,000 citizens in favor of reform ADVOCATE FOR CHANGE Ongoing

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