Are MEPs required to declare lobby meetings?

Yes - since November 2023, all MEPs must publish their meetings with interest representatives. Article 7 of the Parliament's Code of Conduct requires members to publish online all scheduled meetings related to parliamentary business with lobby organisations that fall under the EU Transparency Register, or with representatives of non-EU public authorities. Before the 2023 reform (a response to the Qatargate scandal), the duty applied only to committee chairs, rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs.

What must be declared

• The date, the counterpart met, and the subject of the meeting.
• Meetings connected to a report or resolution the MEP works on carry the role ("rapporteur", "shadow rapporteur") - those duties are the strictest.

What the rule does not do

• It does not verify the declarations: they are self-reported and published with delays. There is no systematic audit.
• It does not force a Transparency Register link: counterparts can be typed free-text. In the current data, only about 48.6% of eligible counterpart entries carry a declared link to a register entry.
• Sanctions for breaches are the Parliament President's to impose and have been rare.

Check any MEP's record

This site collects every declaration daily and links each one to its official source: browse by country, or see the numbers for the whole Parliament.