Meeting rules

The European [EU] ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, has published practical advice for EU officials interacting with interest representatives.

In the first of 10 ‘dos’, officials are urged to check whether interest representatives have to be registered in the EU Transparency Register before meeting them or accepting an invitation to an event.

They are urged, also, to prepare well and conduct basic research to check what interests they represent and who is funding them.

And they are advised to ensure that they disclose, in advance, the purpose of the meeting and the issues for discussion, the names of participants and the organizations and/or clients on whose behalf they act; as well as any other relevant information.

Other advice refers to avoiding conflicts of interest, decisions on whether meetings should go ahead, where meetings take place, record keeping, disclosure requirements and unacceptable lobbying practices.

Additionally, officials are advised to familiarise themselves with the specific rules that apply to their own organizations, and that where these specific rules diverge from the ombudsman’s practical recommendations the former should normally take precedence.

The 10 ‘don’ts’ to some extent are the mirror image of the ‘dos’; so officials are advised not to meet interest representatives who are not registered in the EU Transparency Register if their own rules disallow or discourage this.

But officials are urged not to interact with an interest representative without considering offering other groups a similar opportunity.

And they are urged not to accept any invitations to meetings or events that could put their organizations in a compromising situation.