Should the European Commission Enact a Mandatory Lobby Register?

Abstract

This article reviews the literature on the mandatory government regulation/self-regulation approaches to regulating interest group behaviour. The findings of the author suggest that the voluntary register of the European Commission is bound to fail. The European Commission should implement a mandatory register as soon as possible if the genuine aim of the incumbents is to overcome the Commission’s accountability deficit.

Keywords

• accountability
• democratic deficit
• transparency
• lobbying regulation