Mining and oil firms could be forced to disclose govenment payments The regulations would require oil and mining companies to report the payments they make to foreign states, including everything from taxes paid per project to mining licences, and moved a step closer to becoming law after the European Parliament's legal affairs committee voted in their favour on Tuesday. Under the new system, companies will have to report all payments in excess of €80,000 (£64,300) to governments and local authorities in the countries where they operate, and also break down how much they pay with respect to individual projects, such as a mine or an oil field. Companies also say that revealing the amounts they pay per project could create tensions in countries, because it would highlight differences in payments within regions, or between what different authorities retain. The European Parliament will now go into negotiation with the presidency of the European Council, which represents member states and has so far been less demanding in its requirements of what miners must disclose. However, the Committee's move - coupled with the introduction last month of tough new rules from the US, setting a global precedent - puts pressure on member states to fall in line and raises campaigners" hopes the rules will be passed into law. Joseph Williams, of the Publish What You Pay campaign, said: "Project by project reporting is vital as it is the only way that communities which are affected by natural resource extraction can track their entitlements and hold their own governments to account. The European Parliament has now firmly put the ball into the Council's court. The Committee also indicated that similar disclosures rules could be applied to other sectors.