Companies, consultancies and non-governmental organisations are being asked to disclose how much they spend lobbying European Union policymakers, under new rules that come into force today.

The initiative is being championed by Siim Kallas, the European Administration Commissioner, and is designed to show how different interest groups try to influence EU legislation. The information will be available in a register

By injecting greater transparency into the legislative process, the European Commission, in Brussels, hopes to dispel the widespread view that lobbyists exert undue pressure behind the scenes in the way EU decisions are taken. Mr Kallas said: “My line is this: money does not equal influence, but it does enhance it, and a register without financial disclosure would fail to address the issue of public perception.”

Under the scheme, public affairs consultancies and law firms that engage in lobbying are being asked to name their clients and to spell out to the nearest 50,000, or as a percentage of total revenue, how much they receive from them every year.

Companies and trade associations with their own in-house lobbyists are expected to estimate the annual cost of lobbying the EU institutions. Non-governmental organisations and think-tanks will have to publish their overall budget and itemise their main sources of funding.

Lobbyists are under no legal obligation to provide the information. The system is purely voluntary, unlike in the United States, where such details are required by law. However, the Commission is confident that peer pressure and the promise that the views of those who do register will be taken into account when new legislation is drafted, will persuade companies to sign up.

The introduction of the register, which comes after a code of conduct setting out ground rules for lobbyists, is prompting mixed reactions. Some companies fear that the information could jeopardise client confidentiality.

However, the European Public Affairs Consultancies Association, representing three quarters of public affairs practitioners in Brussels, is advising members to participate in the scheme. Jose Laloum, the association chairman, said: “We want this to work. Obviously, it is not perfect, but it legitimises business involvement. We will use the summer to assess exactly what it all means.”

Non-governmental organisations, which have played a vocal role in pressing for clear rules on lobbyists, argue that the guidelines do not go far enough. They want the register to list individual lobbyists' names.

A Greenpeace spokesman said: “This is more of a token gesture than a step forward in transparency. Without the names of individual lobbyists, it is difficult to expose cases of revolving doors' as people move between companies and EU institutions.”

Law firms face particular difficulties. One Brussels-based lawyer said: “You could argue that what the Commission is trying to do, is already being done by national professional bodies. We also have the added question of client confidentiality.”

The Law Society has already given warning that it is trying to establish whether firms and solicitors can register with the Commission while still fully complying with their duties under the Solicitors' Code.

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