Revision of the Transparency Directive

Key points:

• The EESC agrees with the aims and content of the proposal to revise the Transparency Directive, but feels obliged to state a number of points for consideration:
  • The simplifications proposed will also have an economic impact on SMEs,
  • With regard to the publication of quarterly reports, the EESC supports the suspension of mandatory publication,
  • With regard to establishing the European information mechanism, the EESC wishes to draw attention to the fact that integrating existing national databases could be problematic, given the incompatibilities between the technologies,
  • As regards the mandatory requirement to disclose information on payments to governments, the EESC calls for the scope of this provision to be widened to cover the granting to private entities of concessions which are of public interest, such as the operation of transport, telecommunications, energy and gambling networks, either by simply granting such concessions or by establishing public-private partnerships,
  • Where sanctions are concerned, the EESC argues that, in addition to setting upper limits for the planned sanctions, minimum thresholds should also be set, to ensure that no wrongdoer goes unpunished and that sanctions are dissuasive,
  • It is worth pointing out that the proposal in conjunction with others planned to make the market more attractive could lead to an increase in transactions, whose impact on the operation of the market has not yet been taken into consideration.

For more information please contact the INT Section Secretariat