This project 'Democratizing Influence' imagines an alternative system of interest representation in the EU. It is a vision of a new architecture to host a transparent and participatory European democracy. We believe that lobbying should happen in the open - not in secrecy behind the curtain walls of office blocks in Brussels. But we do not only promote lobbying transparency at the EU level. The project also seeks to empower citizens to participate in EU politics through a new citizen network that can counterbalance professional interest groups. In that sense, we are not claiming that there is too much lobbying; Instead, we want to ensure that a broad and diverse spectrum of interests, ideas and opinions can be expressed through a transparent and fair representation in the EU.