The report by Parliament’s co-negotiator Danuta Hübner (EPP, PL) was adopted with 645 votes in favour, five against and 49 abstentions. This vote signifies a major change to the structure of the existing Transparency Register: interest representatives will have to register in order to be able to carry out certain lobbying activities relating to any of the three signatory institutions, while each institution will now also put in place complementary transparency measures to encourage their registration.

Parliament welcomes the “activity-based approach” that covers indirect lobbying, which has become more prevalent due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also welcomes the change of the Council’s status from an observer to a formal party to the agreement. Nevertheless, it highlights that the scope could have been broader in relation to Council activities, and calls for maximum participation in the voluntary scheme for Permanent Representations. MEPs also stress that any revision of the conditionality arrangements on the Commission’s side should include meetings with senior staff.

The text calls for the implementation of several actions by the Parliament’s bodies, including:

• making participation as a speaker at all events organised by committees or by intergroups, as well as delegation meetings, conditional on registration;
• adopting guidelines in order to support rapporteurs, shadow rapporteurs and committee Chairs to fulfil their obligations under Parliament Rules of Procedure; and
• introducing a rule for Parliament’s senior staff to meet only with registered interest representatives.

Quotes

EP co-negotiator Katarina Barley (S&D, DE) stated: “After years of wrangling, the Council is finally brought on board. By setting a positive example, we can become a role model also for the Member States and shift the paradigm across the board. With the new rules, citizens can more easily understand how decisions that affect their daily lives are made. It is also important that we will now have a stronger code of conduct and more resources for the effective implementation of the rules”.

EP co-negotiator and rapporteur Danuta Hübner (EPP, PL) highlighted that “Parliament’s goals are fully reflected in the new framework: we have expanded the remit and strengthened the Transparency Register, while ensuring that free mandate given to MEPs by European citizens will remain intact. With Council becoming a co-signatory to the interinstitutional agreement, we are really turning a new page for transparent decision-making at EU level”.

Next steps

Parliament’s President will sign the Agreement with the President of the Council and the

President of the Commission, which will be published in the Official Journal of the EU.

Background

Under Parliament’s existing rules, rapporteurs, shadow rapporteurs and committee chairs are required to publish information on their scheduled meetings with interest representatives within the scope of the Transparency Register.

Parliament’s co-negotiators reached a political agreement with the Council and the Commission in December 2020. Since 2011, the Parliament and the Commission have jointly operated a public register for interest representatives. The Council has been an observer since 2014. The Commission presented its proposal for a new inter-institutional agreement on a mandatory Transparency Register covering the Parliament, Council and the Commission in 2016. More information can be found on the dedicated EP webpage.

At their third meeting on Thursday (22 April), the Executive Board endorsed the event’s draft programme, which will take place on Europe Day. It will be broadcast live, and will feature remote citizen participation and interventions by the Presidents of the three EU institutions.

The representatives of the European Parliament, Council and Commission also endorsed the Conference’s Rules of Procedure regarding the European citizens’ panels, and in relation to the Principles and the Scope of the Conference. Each panel will comprise 200 citizens and will ensure that at least one female and one male citizen per Member State is included. Citizens will be chosen randomly to set up panels that are representative of the EU’s diversity, in terms of geographic origin, gender, age, socioeconomic background and level of education. Young people between 16 and 25 will make up one-third of each panel.

They also held an exchange of views on the rules of the Conference Plenary, aiming to reach an agreement at their next meeting.

Parliament’s Co-Chair of the Executive Board, Guy Verhofstadt, said: “We are preparing the ground to get as much interaction as possible between the two starting tracks of the Conference – the platform and the citizens’ panels. The next step is to set up the Plenary to reflect Europe’s diversity of opinion and take up the ideas and suggestions from citizens, on which the success of the Conference depends.”

The Portuguese Secretary of State for EU Affairs, and Co-Chair from the Presidency of the Council of the EU, Ana Paula Zacarias, said: “The level of participation in the Conference’s digital platform over the last days had been truly impressive. Citizens are answering our call for participation and it’s time to move a step further and set the Conference in motion.”

Commission Vice-President for Democracy and Demography, and Co-Chair, Dubravka Šuica, said: “This Conference is all about engaging and empowering citizens. We keep them at the forefront of all our thinking on the Conference. Whether they are pro-Europe or sceptical, we want to hear from them, so we can respond to their concerns.”

Next steps

The next meeting of the Executive Board is scheduled to take place on 9 May in Strasbourg. Nevertheless, additional meetings might still be scheduled in the weeks before.

Background

The Executive Board is composed of representatives from the three institutions (European Parliament, Council and Commission), on equal footing. It oversees the work, process and organisation of the Conference. COSAC representatives participate as observers to all Board meetings. Representatives from the Committee of the Regions, the European Economic and Social Committee and social partners are also invited as observers.

The multilingual digital platform is fully interactive: people can engage with one another and discuss their proposals with fellow citizens from all Member States, in the EU’s 24 official languages. People from all walks of life and in numbers as large as possible are encouraged to contribute, via the platform, in shaping their future – and also to promote the platform on social media channels, with the hashtag #TheFutureIsYours

The Executive Board of the Conference on the Future of Europe, comprising representatives from the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission, is launching the multilingual digital platform for the Conference on the Future of Europe inviting all EU citizens to contribute to shaping their own future and that of Europe as a whole. The platform is available in 24 languages, allowing citizens from across the Union to share and exchange their ideas and views through online events.

The Joint Presidency of the Conference welcomed the launch of the platform.

European Parliament President, David Sassoli, said: “The platform represents a key tool to allow citizens to participate and have a say on the Future of Europe. We must be certain that their voices will be heard and that they have a role in the decision-making, regardless of the COVID-19 pandemic. European democracy, of the representative and participatory kind, will continue to function no matter what, because our shared future demands it.”

Prime Minister of Portugal António Costa, on behalf of the Presidency of the Council, said: “The time has come for our citizens to actively share their greatest concerns and their ideas. This discussion couldn’t happen at a more relevant time. We have to prepare now, so that we come out of this crisis even stronger and when we overcome the pandemic we stand ready for the future. We hope to continue to build the Europe of the future together, a fairer, greener and more digital Europe that responds to our citizens’ expectations.”

European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “Health, climate change, good and sustainable jobs in a more and more digital economy, the state of our democratic societies: We are inviting Europeans to speak up, to address their concerns and tell us what Europe they want to live in. With this citizens’ platform, we are giving everyone the opportunity to contribute to shaping the future of Europe and engage with other people from across Europe. This is a great opportunity to bring Europeans together virtually. Join the debate! Together, we can build the future we want for our Union.”

The Conference on the Future of Europe is an unprecedented, open and inclusive exercise in deliberative democracy. It seeks to give people from all walks of life, across Europe, a greater say on what they expect from the European Union, which should then help guide the EU’s future direction and policymaking. The Joint Presidency has committed to follow up on the outcome of the Conference.