It is something of a cliché in contemporary politics to criticize lobbyists. The reality of the matter is that the immediate, vitriolic repulsion with which the word “lobbyist” is often greeted is more a result of a misunderstanding of the profession than any inherent immorality within it.

The organizations listed below aim to curb the influence of corporations on EU decision-making. They argue that the influence exerted by corporate lobbyists on the political agenda of Europe result in a loss of democracy in EU decision-making and the postponement, weakening, or blockage even, of urgently needed progress on social, environmental and consumer reforms.

Chile has a new law on lobbying. Due to the efforts of civil society and the near unanimous support of both houses of the country's parliament, Chile has become the first country in Latin America with legislation on lobbying disclosure.

Despite its weaknesses, the law represents an important step toward  lobbying transparency in Chile. In the new disclosure system, registration is voluntary. While this may significantly limit how the new regulation might capture lobbying activity, the law outlines a unique way of providing such information in the absence of a mandatory register.

There are a number of mandates and responsibilities that will be allocated in the next European Parliament.

The far-right group led by the French Front National could not be created, at least for the first plenary sessions at the new European Parliament.

Immediate Consequences:

Partners of Cleveland’s Squire Sanders and Washington, D.C.-based law firm/lobbying powerhouse Patton Boogs have approved a combination that will create a firm with about 1,600 lawyers spanning 45 offices in 21 countries. The combined firm will be called Squire Patton Boggs.

The Council will submit a formal proposal for Commission President during its next official summit on 26 and 27 June 2014.

BUT Prime Minister David Cameron will force a vote on Mr. Juncker's appointment at the Brussels Summit. Under the Lisbon rules, the vote will be by qualified majority voting. This means that a proposal under consideration by the Council must meet thre requirements:

As a new Member of the European Parliament, you will frequently have to deal with complex and technical issues on which you will need to be briefed. Your Assistants and Policy Advisors may not necessarily be experts on the dossier under consideration.

As a regulation the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be in force in every European Union Member State, and each state will only be allowed to pass its own data protection law if this is permitted by the GDPR, or if the subject matter of the law is outside of the GDPR's scope. Although there is some difference of opinion over the details, there is common political consensus that the European Union needs a modern, European-wide approach to data protection law. Furthermore, the GDPR should be adopted by 2015 in order to advance the digital Single Market.

Canada and the European Union are still negotiating key aspects of the free trade pact with implementation possibly as much as two years away. Finalizing the deal, fixing all the legal language, translating the agreement and obtaining approval in Europe and Canada would take until the spring of 2015. But negotiators have yet to resolve a handful of thorny trade issues.