Urgent call for new rules which put morality at heart of financial system

Bishops, business leaders and the Catholic community in England and Wales are all calling for companies to ‘open up their books’ to help prevent corruption and enable poor communities to benefit from the wealth generated by natural resources, such as minerals, oil and gas.

At the end of May, EU ministers will finalise new legislation requiring companies to report on the payments they receive from governments on a country by country and project by project basis.
However, ministers in the UK and other EU member states are under pressure from corporate lobbying to water down the European Commission's proposals, by removing the requirement to report on a project by project basis.
Act now to call on the UK government to back strong laws to open up the books >

Holding governments to account

This level of detail, equivalent to that required from US companies under the Dodd-Frank Act, will give communities enough knowledge to meaningfully hold their own governments to account for what they spend. Reporting these payments will encourage government officials to make sure that natural resource deals, often worth millions of pounds, are in the best interests of their citizens.
An open letter, signed by 15 Bishops from three continents, calls for “new rules to put more morality in the financial system [and] ensure that the wealth produced, particularly from the exploitation of natural resources, is not monopolised for the sole benefit of a minority.” Read the full letter here >

Transforming millions of lives

Lord Browne, former Chief Executive of BP, has also backed the new laws, arguing in an article for the Financial Times that project by project reporting would be affordable and not damage competitiveness. “Transparency is the best way to overcome the “resource curse” faced by too many of the world’s people. But voluntary disclosure by energy companies is no longer sufficient,” he wrote.
“This law could transform the lives of millions of people in some of the world’s poorest countries. But it will only work if it requires companies to disclose all the important details of their payments.”
CAFOD’s Private Sector Analyst Anne Lindsay added: “The UK Government took a strong lead in the past and mustn’t cave in now. It is vital that in the European Council discussions and negotiations over the final legislation they push for reporting both by country of operation and by project. It took ten years to reach this point, so the new law must be fit for purpose.”

Add your voice

Head of Campaigns Clare Lyons said: “This issue has struck a chord with campaigners: in the last year, over 5,000 of you have called on companies to open up their books. We now have just three weeks until EU ministers make their decision. People in poor countries rich in natural resources have waited long enough.
“Please help make sure that we don’t miss this vital opportunity to fight corruption and tackle poverty. Please act now so that government ministers listen to the people they represent, instead of corporate lobbyists.”
Add your voice before 31 May. Email ministers George Osborne and Norman Lamb now >