In a surprise move, the European Parliament revised its transparency requirements at the end of January. The Parliament obliged MEPs to disclose all their meetings related to reports underway in which the MEP has role as a rapporteur or a “shadow” rapporteur.
“I am happy to be among the first if not the very first to publish my legislative footprint in relation to my report, the EU-Vietnam VPA agreement which was unanimously adopted in the Committee on International Trade. I expect all colleagues to urgently publish their respective lists on their files,” Heidi Hautala, Vice President of the European Parliament, says.
The new rules of procedure entered into force the 11th of February.
“This is definitely a move in the right direction. The increased transparency of legislative work in the EU institutions is a prerequisite for regaining citizens’ trust,” Hautala continues.
BACKGROUND
The “Corbett report” was adopted in the European Parliament on the 31 January and it sets the obligation for committee chairs and all members to disclose meetings that they have in relation to their work as rapporteurs or shadow rapporteurs. These reports will be published on the European Parliament’s webpage. The rule entered into force on the 11 February, and applies to all work conducted in the European Parliament since that date.
Heidi’s legislative footprint as a whole >
- Members should adopt the systematic practice of only meeting interest representatives that have registered in the Transparency Register established by means of the Agreement between the European Parliament and the European Commission on the transparency register
- Members should publish online all scheduled meetings with interest representatives falling under the scope of the Transparency register. Without prejudice to Article 4(6) of Annex I, rapporteurs, shadow rapporteurs and committee chairs shall, for each report, publish online all scheduled meetings with interest representatives falling under the scope of the Transparency register. The Bureau shall provide for necessary infrastructure on Parliament’s website.
