BRUSSELS ― The EU’s watchdog has opened an inquiry into whether the European Commission acted secretively in its dealings with industry before launching a series of business-friendly initiatives, according to a letter seen by POLITICO.

The European Ombudsman was acting on a complaint by the Corporate Europe Observatory, which scrutinizes lobbying. The NGO had accused the Commission of being “evasive” about meetings its officials held with BusinessEurope and the European Round Table for Industry (ERT).

The discussions, which took place earlier this year, concerned the Commission’s so-called omnibus simplification agenda ― a series of proposals that cut the amount of regulations that companies must follow.

It’s not unusual for the Ombudsman to open inquiries into the Commission, but this one targets a particularly contentious issue and comes against the backdrop of criticism from lawmakers, officials and transparency campaigners that President Ursula von der Leyen is running a more opaque operation than did her predecessors.

The Corporate Europe Observatory asked the Commission for information about its talks with the business representatives, saying public notes on the discussion contained little detail.

The complaint referred to minutes from a meeting in May between the cabinet of Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis and the European Round Table for Industry, which read: “ERT inquired about the proposals regarding the first omnibus proposal. Head of Cabinet gave an overview of the state of play.”

Lots of lobbying

The Ombudsman wrote in its response to the NGO that the Commission’s “implicit refusal” to provide any follow-up documents on the meeting after it requested them justified an inquiry, which it opened earlier this month.

The NGO argued that it was particularly important to access the information given the “enormous” amount of lobbying that has gone into the simplification plan — the Commission’s move to cut red tape.

It said more than 600 one-on-one meetings between the Commission and lobbyists have been held on the plan, which businesses have largely welcomed because it aims to scrap piles of proposed laws. At the same time the initiative has concerned civil society, which sees it as a euphemism for deregulation.

The complaint also impugns the Commission’s new approach to openness around meetings.

Last year, in one of the first moves of von der Leyen’s second term, the EU executive expanded the amount of meetings that must be made public. Those obligations now apply to more than 1,500 officials, not just the most senior members of the Commission.

It also required the Commission to provide detailed notes of what happened in the meetings.

But in reality those minutes are often short and vague, frustrating the same groups that initially considered the change a win for accountability. 

The Commission did not respond to a request for comment.

The Ombudsman could issue recommendations to the Commission if it finds against it, although it is not obliged to do so.