25 04 12 Global Witness – EU must not allow big oil to undermine vital transparency law

The “dictators” – representing some
of the world’s most autocratic and opaque regimes – will visit the European
Commission, Council and Parliament, and warmly thank the EU for introducing
exemptions into the proposed law which would allow any country to prevent this
vital financial reporting by passing a blocking law in their own
countries.

 

The exemption clause was introduced
by the Commission following pressure from industry lobbyists, who claimed that
disclosing revenue information may violate laws in producer countries. Global
Witness and other groups have challenged the industry to produce a credible
example but so far, none have been forthcoming. Existing contracts between oil
companies and governments around the world routinely allow exemptions to
confidentiality when a company is required to disclose information by any
securities exchange. Including a new exemption in the EU law will be a
dictator’s charter, encouraging tyrants who want to block disclosure to pass a
new law in their countries banning such disclosure and thus, over-ride the EU’s
own laws.

 

“Dictators and corrupt officials
around the world will be cheering if the European Union gives in to pressure
from oil and mining companies and allows exemptions to the EU’s transparency
law,” said Simon Taylor, a Founding Director of Global Witness. “There is no
evidence at all that this clause is necessary. It creates a perverse incentive
as it will encourage corrupt dictators to pass blocking legislation in their own
countries and continue to keep some of the most vulnerable citizens in the
dark”.

 

Global Witness and other civil
society groups are calling on the European Council and Parliament to stand up to
industry lobbyists and strengthen the transparency proposals from the European
Commission by ensuring that there are no reporting exemptions for any country in
the final law. 

 

Ends

 

For further details, contact Brendan
O’Donnell at bodonnell@globalwitness.org, +44 791 251 7128 or Judith Poultney at
jpoultney@globalwitness.org +44 773 052 9766

 

 

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Notes to
editors:

 

1.More information about the stunt
and the EU transparency legislation can be found at:
www.globalwitness.org/dictatorscharter

2.Photos of the dictators’ march on
Brussels are available from the Global Witness press office: +44 207 492 5858.

3.In Angola, for example, official
production-sharing agreements (PSAs) allow companies to opt out of
confidentiality clauses  when required to disclose information “by any
applicable law, regulation or rule (including … any regulation or rule of any
regulatory agency, securities commission or securities exchange on which the
securities of such Party or of any such Party’s Affiliates are
listed)”