The widget allows EU citizens to lobby European lawmakers for strong transparency laws in the extractive and logging industries
LONDON (TrustLaw) – Aid agency Tearfund has launched a campaign on its website that allows citizens of European Union countries to lobby EU lawmakers for strong transparency laws with just one click.
The online widget is part of Tearfund’s Unearth the Truth campaign which aims to ensure that the European Parliament passes stringent transparency laws forcing companies in the extractive and logging industries to disclose all payments made to governments.
The laws are aimed at improving transparency in resource-rich countries where corruption in the oil and mineral industries often means the vast majority of the population do not benefit from their country’s wealth.
The laws were published in draft by the European Commission (EC) last October.
“We want to target the MEPs in all 27 EU countries at this crucial time,” said Ben Niblett, Head of Campaigns at Tearfund in a statement on Monday.
“Together we can increase our influence, and this is essential because we need EU transparency laws that are watertight to benefit poorer communities in countries rich in resources. Any attempts to weaken legislation at this late stage will effectively allow business as usual for governments and companies that have something to hide,” Niblett added.
The timing of the widget’s launch is important because MEPs are currently discussing whether to amend the draft laws, water them down or strengthen them, Niblett told TrustLaw.
The widget will automatically send a pre-written email in support of the laws to the relevant MEP. The email can be changed and personalised, Niblett said, but the pre-written version includes the following wording:
“In 2008 Africa’s exports of oil, gas and minerals were worth nine times more than aid. On that same continent the cost of corruption is estimated at US$148 billion annually. That’s equivalent to a quarter of Africa’s income going missing every year – enough money to provide universal access to clean water and safe sanitation, transforming millions of people’s lives.
“I am urging you to show leadership and support the passage of the Transparency and Accounting Directives through the European Parliament.”
The EC proposals are far reaching in that they encompass all large private companies registered in the EU and all firms listed on an EU stock exchange. They also mandate that government payments are listed on a project-by-project basis as well as a country-by-country basis.
COUNTER LOBBYING
The proposed laws have met resistance from some of the companies that will be forced to disclose their payments to governments.
In a letter to the EU financial regulation chief, a group of companies objected in particular to a proposal for reporting on a project-by-project basis.
They said that was commercially and politically sensitive, would not add transparency and the rules failed to define what constituted a project.
It was signed by Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Xstrata, BG Group, BP, Repsol, Shell and Total.
Niblett said they were aware that companies were lobbying on what the lower limit should be for project disclosures.
“We'd like this to be low enough to be useful for communities on the ground, so they can see how much revenue their local government gets ... and can hold them to account for what they've done with the money,” Niblett told TrustLaw.
“But we've heard of some corporate lobbying for disclosure to the nearest $million and only at national level, which would be less useful for the people we serve.”
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