Group told to leave parliament over fears of secret lobbying

AN organisation, representing businesses and members of the European Parliament, will be asked to leave their offices inside the parliament just five months after first moving in.

Some MEPs have accused the body, The European Business and Parliament Scheme (EBPS), of being a secret lobby for big business including British tobacco, Microsoft and Unilever.

But the EBPS say their main function is to educate parliamentarians about the commercial and business world by giving them an opportunity to spend a few days with the companies affiliated.

The EBPS is an offshoot of similar organisations in other countries and started up 30 years ago in the London Parliament. They are also in the Scottish, Welsh, Finnish, Belgium and Swedish parliaments, and in the Northern Ireland Assembly and in the US.

Their parent body, the International Association of Business and Parliament, says it exists to establish a non-corrupt, transparent bridge to under-standing between parliamentarians and business people, strengthening democracy and national economies.

During a meeting of political party leaders in the parliament this week, Green party leader Monika Frassoni said she objected to the EBPS having its office in the parliament and being able to use its resources.

It was particularly important for the parliament to ensure there was no unethical lobbying inside its building before their report on lobbying comes up for voting next month.

A spokesperson for the organisation said they had gone through the normal channels and the quaestors — MEPs elected to oversee the administration of the Parliament — had agreed to give them an office.

“We are not a secret organisation and we are not here illegally. We are not lobbyists — Brussels is fully of lobbyists but we are here to organise training programmes for legislators,” said Natalia Rincon, chief executive of EBPS.

She added that if the quaestors decide that they should leave, they will do so.

But MEP Jens-Peter Bonde accused MEPs of being involved in secret lobbying without informing their groups and of facilitating 28 companies to have their own lobbying office in the parliament.