To the public's eye, lobbying is still a highly obscure trade. Lobbyists are generally perceived to work behind closed doors in order to influence legislation—what really happens is unknown to the public. To make interest representatives more visible, both the European Union and the United States have developed mechanisms to register lobbyists. However, while US legislation now forces lobbyists to register and report their influential work by fixed deadlines, the EU's registration remains voluntary due to the lack of a legal basis.

This book takes the reader closer to today's concept of lobbying, especially in regard to the EU's registration mechanism. Lisa Moessing compares both the US and the EU registration systems by their technical composition, accessibility, and handling and contrasts their efficiency and effectiveness. Featuring the perspectives of lobbyists, watchdog members, and political representatives, this text outlines a starting point for improvement and emphasizes the importance of listening to those who deal with registers in everyday practice.