The European Commission has backed the introduction of a voluntary register for lobbyists [3] seeking to influence European Union officials. "All these groups or bodies are invited to register publicly whom they represent and what their objectives are. They are invited to declare funding sources and major clients," the commission stated. “I hope the lobbying profession will see this as an opportunity, rather than a threat," the European Commission's Vice-President for Administrative Affairs, Audit and Anti-Fraud Siim Kallas stated in a media release [4]. Kallas announced European lobbyists would only be required to disclose total spending on lobbying EU bodies and "the relative weight per client." Associated Press notes that the new rules "fall far short of recent U.S. reforms to ethics laws that prevent senators from receiving gifts and free travel from lobbyists."