The European Union’s Transparency Register suspended the conservative think tank MCC Brussels’ registration earlier this month. The reason behind the decision is a technicality: in the oversight body’s opinion, MCC Brussels is violating its ‘single registration’ policy, with MCC Hungary and MCC Brussels being included in the database under two separate registrations.
MCC is disputing this as a valid reason for suspension. In their research, the organization has found a number of other entities that have regional branches with separate registrations included in the Transparency Register, such as the WWF, the ILGA Network, and the Friends of the Earth network.
In a statement provided to us, MCC Brussels Head of Communications John O’ Brien is raising another issue about the suspension as well.
‘Recent reporting on the suspension of MCC Brussels from the EU Transparency Register has contained significant factual inaccuracies. Much of the coverage has focused on implication rather than fact, creating a misleading impression of what has actually occurred.
For clarity, the suspension does not concern corruption, misconduct, financial irregularities, criminal wrongdoing, or any attempt to improperly influence EU institutions. Nor does it arise from the original complaint that triggered the investigation.
The original complaint alleged that MCC Brussels had improperly used the Transparency Register’s “newly formed entity” designation and failed to disclose its funding. The Transparency Register Secretariat subsequently accepted that MCC Brussels was not in breach of the Code of Conduct on this point and welcomed the submission of its financial information within the required timeframe…The suspension instead arises from a dispute over the application of the Transparency Register’s “single registration” principle. The Secretariat has argued that MCC Brussels and MCC Hungary should be covered by a single registration because they form part of a single economic entity under common control,’ Mr O’Brien wrote in his statement to our site.
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