The news that Antonio Tajani has been nominated to replace Jacques Barrot as Commissioner for Transport highlights a problem of accountability in the EU.

Before he can take up his duties, he’ll have to appear before Parliament’s Transport Committee, but considering he’s an MEP already we can assume the business is in the bag. In any case, the committee has no power of veto.

So we have an elected MEP relinquishing his duties in favour of a more influential job. I wonder what the people who voted for him would make of that.

His appointment follows the recent resignation of MEP Alex Stubb, who was appointed Finland’s foreign minister.

Today, the EU Parliament will be voting on a proposal to set up a register of lobbyists.

The text and amendments are here.

Commentary from EUractiv is here.

I’ll post more about this later today.

Here is the press release from yesterday’s meeting of the EU Parliament’s constitutional affairs committee.

“A mandatory public register for lobbyists, common to the Council, Commission and Parliament and providing for “full financial disclosure”, was proposed by the Constitutional Affairs committee on Tuesday. Lobbyists would also have to comply with a code of conduct and face sanctions if they infringed it.”

The proposal was passed with three abstentions, eighteen in favour, and one MEP voting against. I’m curious to know who that one MEP is…