Following the release of the joint European Commission and European Parliament "Transparency Register," the Civil Society Contact Group (CSCG) and ALTER-EU produced guidelines for using the register for NGOS, reflecting in depth discussions within the EU Civil Society Contact Group and ALTER-EU as well as the advice of lobby transparency experts, and aspects of US lobby disclosure legislation.

These guidelines cover those steps of the registration that are particularly relevant to improve EU lobbying transparency and provide constructive example of how the “Transparency Register” could be improved. A meaningful register must disclose:

• the names of lobbyists and the number of full-time equivalents (fte’s) should be declared by all registrants,
• the finances involved in any lobbying effort, including the specific funding resources, and
• the specific lobbying issues, including the official reference numbers of targeted legislative pieces.

The guidelines are addressed to all entities that want to register in the voluntary “Transparency Register”. They are primarily for organisations that will register in the NGO category of the register but the standard se,t should in their view, apply to all lobbyists.

In the guidelines you can find:

• which additional information should be submitted in the interest of transparency, and
• an example of how to calculate expenditures related to lobbying.