Beyond Maastricht: societal actors in European integration since 1992

Karen Heard-Laureote

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Published conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

    Abstract

    In March 2005, Siim Kallas, then Vice-President of the Commission and Commissioner for Administrative Affairs, Audit and Anti-Fraud, in a speech at the European Foundation for Management in Nottingham, made no secret of his aversion to the involvement of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in European integration: ‘Many NGOs rely on public funding, some from the Commission … The Commission is paying lobbies, in order to be lobbied.’1 Kallas was advocating the need for a European transparency initiative. In delivering his speech, he argued that it was not enough for the European Union (EU) institutions to be the focus of transparency drives: ‘Organizations, groups or persons in the ambit of European institutions which offer advice, represent clients, provide data or defend public causes should also be accountable. People are allowed to know who they are, what they do and what they stand for. There is nothing wrong with lobbies because each decision-making process needs proper information from different angles … But transparency is lacking.’
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationSocietal actors in European integration
    Subtitle of host publicationPolity-Building and Policy-making 1958–1992
    EditorsWolfram Kaiser, Jan-Henrik Meyer
    Place of PublicationBasingstoke
    PublisherPalgrave Macmillan Ltd.
    Pages221-243
    Number of pages23
    ISBN (Electronic)978-1-137-01765-9
    ISBN (Print)978-1-349-43715-3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 22 Feb 2013

    Publication series

    NamePalgrave Studies in European Union Politics

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