Lobby register

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A Lobby Registry, also named Lobbyist Registry, Register for Lobby Transparency or Registry of Lobbyists is a public database, in which information about lobbying actors and key data about their actions can be accessed.

Contents

Its aim is to gain transparency about possible influences of interest groups on Parliamentarians and their staff. Several studies indicate that lobby transparency leads to a decrease of corruption. [1] Registers exist for political committees of several countries. Their effectiveness is rated differently, strongly depending on their exact regulations. Many non-mandatory registers do not include powerful lobbyists. [1] [2] [3]

Positions and considerations

Register opponents mainly argued in a survey that there would be no need for regulations, since it would be self-regulating and that they would fear a barrier of free exchange of views. [4] Different from the US, West European countries had only weak lobby regulations for a long time. Authors of a study interpreted that the early West-European politic was not focusing the concept of lobby transparency to gain public confidence into political processes, but rather on promoting economic development by enabling undisturbed communication between politics and economy. This setting of priorities is currently changing due to scandals and public pressure. [1]

Regulation details

Many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) see means of controlling and sanction to handle missing or wrong entries as a central prerequisite for a working register. [3] [5] In many cases there are complains that this has not been put into practice.

Making an entry only mandatory if a certain threshold of money or time is spent on lobbying should prevent an inappropriately high bureaucratic burden for small actors (for example) in the US. Similar mechanisms are popular among supporters of a register. [3]

Implementation as a database is favored over a list format since it allows not only searches but also enables data analysis and graphical representations. [6]

Contained data

Most registers contain at least the following data:

A survey among lobbyists conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) revealed, that a majority of them would support a mandatory register and publication of the data above (excluding financial information). [5] Some registers, for example the Canadian, require much more data.

Lobby registers in different countries

United States

A mandatory, publicly accessible and processable [7] lobby register with enforced financial disclosure and theoretical high punishments exists on federal level, [8] as well as in every state besides Pennsylvania. [4] A register was introduced in the US in 1946 with the Lobbying Act . Loopholes in the regulation lead to the fact that only 4 000 of 13 000 lobbyists were registered, before the rules of disclosure were substituted by the stricter Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. In 2007 this was extended by the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act with more precise definitions and more powerful means of sanction. [2] The data published by this register is relatively informative. But it has been criticized that complaints lead to no action. [9]

Canada

Canada was putting a Lobbyist Registration Act into operation in 1989. This was extended regularly to comply with higher demands about data given, to extend the applying field of scope and to enable more powerful means of sanction. Maximum punishments are two years in prison and 200,000 Canadian $ (ca. 190,000 US $ or 140,000 EUR). [10] The strong regulations about lobby transparency demand lobbyists to report about their activity on a monthly basis. This includes the information, with which members of parliament or their staff they interacted and about which topics they spoke. The conduct has a law status, is equipped with sanctional power and is controlled by an independent office.

Lobbyists shall not place public office holders in a conflict of interest by proposing or undertaking any action that would constitute an improper influence on a public office holder.

— The Lobbyists' Code of Conduct - Rule 8 [11]

Complaints are pursued publicly, violations have been prosecuted legally in practice. [12] In the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario similar regulations were introduced. [2]

European Union

The Transparency Register is a voluntary lobbyist register operated jointly by the European Parliament and the EU Commission since June 2011. [13] Its coverage extends beyond lobbyists to law firms, NGOs, and think tanks, and it includes information on staff numbers, the legislative proposals they have attempted to influence, and the amount of EU funding they have received. [13] It should be appealing that only registered lobbyists are granted passes that ease access to the parliament. As maximum means of sanction a commented deletion of the entry out of the registry and a withdrawal of the access pass is possible. The transparency gained by this register is seen as minor, since entries are voluntary, were drawn back arbitrarily by lobbyist in the past and incorrect information (which the co-signed code of conduct [14] does not officially allow) is not sanctioned in practice. The register is however in an evaluation phase and there is the prospect of further improvement. [3] The European Parliament is still working to transform it into a mandatory register, [15] while the EU Commission is reluctant. First the reason given for this was that there would be no legal base. After a legal study disproved this, [16] the EU Commission agreed that it was juristically possible, but stated that the current voluntary approach was sufficient. [17] The need for a mandatory EU transparency register has also been highlighted by the anti-corruption organisation, Transparency International [18] which has argued for the need to create a robust and credible mandatory register which would serve to increase the public trust in the EU institutions.

Legislative footprint

It has been planned by the EU Parliament in 2011 to publish a legislative footprint in the appendices of legislative reports. This should list all lobbyists that were in contact with the members of parliament or influenced them during the creation of the law text. [19] [20]

Eventually on 31 January 2019 the EU Parliament adopted binding rules on lobby transparency. Amending its Rules of Procedure, the Parliament stipulated that MEPs involved in drafting and negotiating legislation must publish online their meetings with lobbyists. [21] The amendment says that “rapporteurs, shadow rapporteurs or committee chairs shall, for each report, publish online all scheduled meetings with interest representatives falling under the scope of the Transparency Register”-database of the EU. [22]

United Kingdom

There is a voluntary register in the United Kingdom since 2011, but some NGOs criticize it as ineffective. [23]

Germany

A mandatory lobby register came into force in Germany on 1 January, 2022, along with a code of conduct. [24] These were implemented by the Fourth Merkel cabinet. The scope of the register and code of conduct were widely criticized as insufficient, both by the opposition parties and the Council of Europe's anti-corruption monitoring body. [25]

Since 1972 associations can voluntarily be included in a list reciting their contact data, head and representatives, general interests of the association and the number of their members. [26] The list is limited to associations and there is no data about self-employed lobbyists, lawyers, think tanks and NGOs. There is no financial information and the registration is voluntary. A regulation making a registry in the list mandatory for trade associations to be heard in the Parliament was put out of force later.[ citation needed ] Many NGOs do not see this list as a means to further promote lobby transparency in Germany. [27] Several initiatives of members of parliament in the opposition (social, left wing and green party) were denied by government (consisting of the conservatives and liberals 2009-2013). [28]

In June 2016 the proposal of the opposition was turned down in the Bundestag. In the debate preceding the voting Hans-Peter Uhl, CSU, judiciary of the conservative coalition, warned about the "discrimination and stigmatization" of interest groups. Presenting and discussing individual interests should not be criminalized. [29]

The German states Brandenburg and Rhineland-Palatinate have de facto voluntary lists for associations that are comparable to the list on federal level. [30] [31]

Austria

In Austria a mandatory lobby register [32] with duty of disclosure including financial information and means of sanction was put into force. [33] The register is still in the early phase, some deadlines to register end 2014, many lawyers wait for clarification by a court's decision and did not register. [34] [35]

Further countries

Further registers have been set up in Australia [36] (in the year 2011), Denmark, France (2010), Ireland, Israel (2008), Lithuania (2001), Macedonia (2008), Netherlands [37] (2012), Poland (2005), Slovenia [38] (2010), Taiwan, Hungary (2006-2011). [39] In some cases long-term-experiences do not yet exist, in some cases the need for improvement is already seen today. [1] [34]

See also

Related Research Articles

In politics, lobbying or advocacy, is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies, but also judges of the judiciary. Lobbying, which usually involves direct, face-to-face contact in cooperation with support staff that may not meet directly face-to-face, is done by many types of people, associations and organized groups, including individuals on a personal level in their capacity as voters, constituents, or private citizens; it is also practiced by corporations in the private sector serving their own business interests; by non-profits and non-governmental organizations in the voluntary sector through advocacy groups to fulfil their mission such as requesting humanitarian aid or grantmaking; and by fellow legislators or government officials influencing each other through legislative affairs in the public sector. Lobbying or certain practices that share commonalities with lobbying are sometimes referred to as government relations, or government affairs and sometimes legislative relations, or legislative affairs. It is also an industry known by many of the aforementioned names, and has a near complete overlap with the public affairs industry. Lobbyists may be among a legislator's constituencies, for example amateur lobbyists such as a voter or a bloc of voters within their electoral district acting as private citizens; while others like professional lobbyists may engage in lobbying as a business or profession. Professional lobbyists are people whose business is trying to influence legislation, regulation, or other government decisions, actions, or policies on behalf of a group or individual who hires them. Nonprofit organizations whether as professional or amateur lobbyists can also lobby as an act of volunteering or as a small part of their normal job. Governments often define "lobbying" for legal purposes, and regulate organized group lobbying that has become influential.

As an ethic that spans science, engineering, business, and the humanities, transparency is operating in such a way that it is easy for others to see what actions are performed. Transparency implies openness, communication, and accountability.

Hans-Peter Martin is an Austrian author and journalist and former politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament between 1999 and 2014.

A privacy policy is a statement or legal document that discloses some or all of the ways a party gathers, uses, discloses, and manages a customer or client's data. Personal information can be anything that can be used to identify an individual, not limited to the person's name, address, date of birth, marital status, contact information, ID issue, and expiry date, financial records, credit information, medical history, where one travels, and intentions to acquire goods and services. In the case of a business, it is often a statement that declares a party's policy on how it collects, stores, and releases personal information it collects. It informs the client what specific information is collected, and whether it is kept confidential, shared with partners, or sold to other firms or enterprises. Privacy policies typically represent a broader, more generalized treatment, as opposed to data use statements, which tend to be more detailed and specific.

Sustainability reporting refers to the disclosure, whether voluntary, solicited, or required, of non-financial performance information to outsiders of the organization. Generally speaking, sustainability reporting deals with information concerning environmental, social, economic and governance issues in the broadest sense. These are the criteria gathered under the acronym ESG.

A foreign agent is any person or entity actively carrying out the interests of a foreign principal while located in another host country, generally outside the protections offered to those working in their official capacity for a diplomatic mission.

Privacy law is the body of law that deals with the regulating, storing, and using of personally identifiable information, personal healthcare information, and financial information of individuals, which can be collected by governments, public or private organisations, or other individuals. It also applies in the commercial sector to things like trade secrets and the liability that directors, officers, and employees have when handing sensitive information.

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is a professional body in the United Kingdom for public relations practitioners. Founded as the Institute for Public Relations in 1948, CIPR was awarded Chartered status by the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in 2005 and added "Chartered" to its name. As of late 2012, CIPR had 10,095 members. The association provides training and education, publishes a code of conduct and hosts awards and events. It is governed by a board of directors led by a president who is elected each year.

The Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is a non-profit research and campaign group whose declared aim is to "expose any effects of corporate lobbying on EU policy making". It is based in Brussels.

In politics, a revolving door is a situation in which personnel move between roles as legislators and regulators, on one hand, and employees or lobbyists of the industries affected by the legislation and regulation, on the other. It is analogous to the movement of people in a physical revolving door. Political analysts claim that an unhealthy relationship can develop between the private sector and government, based on the granting of reciprocated privileges to the detriment of the nation, and can lead to regulatory capture.

Lobbying in the United Kingdom plays a significant role in the formation of legislation and a wide variety of commercial organisations, lobby groups "lobby" for particular policies and decisions by Parliament and other political organs at national, regional and local levels.

The Alliance for Lobbying Transparency is a UK-based organisation formed in September 2007 and formally launched in January 2008 and concerned with the influence of lobbying on government decision-making.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in Lithuania</span> Institutional corruption in the country

Corruption in Lithuania describes the prevention and occurrence of corruption in Lithuania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democracy International eV</span> International non-governmental organisation

Democracy International e.V. is an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) working on strengthening direct democracy and citizens' participation at local level, in the nation states and on the global level. Democracy International has been existing as a loose network of democracy activists since 2002. The organisation was formally established in June 2011 as a registered membership association according to German non-profit law. Democracy International is politically independent and funded by membership fees and individual donations. The headquarters are in Cologne, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Union lobbying</span> Lobbying in the European Union

Lobbying in the European Union, also referred to officially as European interest representation, is the activity of representatives of diverse interest groups or lobbies who attempt to influence the executive and legislative authorities of the European Union through public relations or public affairs work. The Treaty of Lisbon introduced a new dimension of lobbying at the European level that is different from most national lobbying. At the national level, lobbying is more a matter of personal and informal relations between the officials of national authorities, but lobbying at the European Union level is increasingly a part of the political decision-making process and thus part of the legislative process. 'European interest representation' is part of a new participatory democracy within the European Union. The first step towards specialised regulation of lobbying in the European Union was a Written Question tabled by Alman Metten, in 1989. In 1991, Marc Galle, Chairman of the Committee on the Rules of Procedure, the Verification of Credentials and Immunities, was appointed to submit proposals for a Code of conduct and a register of lobbyists. Today lobbying in the European Union is an integral and important part of decision-making in the EU. From year to year lobbying regulation in the EU is constantly improving and the number of lobbyists is increasing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transparency of media ownership in Europe</span>

Transparency of media ownership refers to the public availability of accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date information about media ownership structures. A legal regime guaranteeing transparency of media ownership makes possible for the public as well as for media authorities to find out who effectively owns, controls and influences the media as well as media influence on political parties or state bodies.

Transparency of media ownership refers to the public availability of accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date information about media ownership structures to make possible for media authorities and the wider public to ascertain who effectively owns and controls the media. According to the expert Nelly Ognyanova, lack of transparency in media ownership is one of the major problem in the media system in Bulgaria. In Bulgaria there are specific provisions concerning print, electronic media and broadcast media. The relevant law, in particular the Law on Radio and Television and the Law on Mandatory Deposition of Press and Other Works, requires the submission of data identifying the actual owners of electronic and print media and online registers are available to the public. Also, a law imposing restrictions on offshore companies to acquire shares and assets in different fields including the media sector, entered into force in 2014. In addition, under Bulgarian law, media are obliged to provide information about ownership upon request in conformity with the provisions set forth in the Law on Access to Public Information. Despite the existence of these legal transparency obligations, there are several problems concerning, on one side the application of the rules, on the other, the requirements themselves, which are not enough effective in ensuring the disclosure of the actual owners. Also, legal requirements are constantly circumvented and sanctions usually not applied. Moreover, according to experts, the law should not be limited to obligations concerning the ownership, but expand its scope to examine the origin of funding of media outlets as well. Overall, despite recent legislative changes, some loopholes remain, allowing non-transparency as regards to media ownership and funding and making possible to circumvent the law and conceal who the true owners of the media are. According to expert Ognyanova, there are several ways of circumventing the legal requirements: one example is the case of Krasikir Gergov, a former agent of the Communist-era State Security services and owner of advertising agencies that, while acting in the guise of a “consultant”, actually had a share of the ownership and a contract allowing him to exercise control over the newsroom of a media outlet in Bulgaria. According to Professor Georgi Lozanov, a former member of the Council for Electronic Media, the introduction of the Access to Information Law could help in making more transparent the media sector, in particular media ownership and sources of funds which are largely opaque in Bulgaria. "There is no transparency of media capital whatsoever and one never knows what the real situation is [...]. The introduction of the Access to Information Act [...] represented an attempt at bringing the media to supply information about the sources and funds. Because, if you set up a media outlet and sell a product which is directly related to freedom of speech, it is normal to be able to track the business from the very beginning, thai is, to track the genealogy of the message in the business sense", remarked Professor Lozanov.

Access to public information and freedom of information (FOI) refer to the right to access information held by public bodies also known as "right to know". Access to public information is considered of fundamental importance for the effective functioning of democratic systems, as it enhances governments' and public officials' accountability, boosting people participation and allowing their informed participation into public life. The fundamental premise of the right to access public information is that the information held by governmental institutions is in principle public and may be concealed only on the basis of legitimate reasons which should be detailed in the law.

Lobbying in Germany, as in many other parliamentary democracies, plays a significant role in the development of legislation. Lobbying has existed in Germany since 1956, when the Federal Constitutional Court issued a ruling legalizing it. A mandatory lobby register was introduced in Germany effective 1 January 2022, along with a code of conduct.

Lobbying in Canada is an activity where organizations or people outside of government attempt to influence the decision making of elected politicians or government officials at the municipal, provincial or federal level.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Lobbying and transparency: A comparative analysis of regulatory reform; C Holmana and W Luneburg; Interest Groups & Advocacy (2012) 1, 75–104. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg doi : 10.1057/iga.2012.4
  2. 1 2 3 Regulating Lobbyists: A Comparative Analysis of the USA, Canada, Germany and the European Union; R Chari, G Murphy, J Hogan; (2007) The Political Quarterly, Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg creative commons-article; Vol. 78, No. 3, pp. 422-438
  3. 1 2 3 4 “Rescue the Register! How to make EU lobby transparency credible and reliable” - The ALTER-EU report; 2013
  4. 1 2 Hogan, J.: "Next door they have regulation, but not here …”: Assessing the opinions of actors in the opaque world of unregulated lobbying (2008); Canadian Political Science Review. Vol 2, No 3; Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg creative commons article.
  5. 1 2 Transparency and Integrity in Lobbying (2012); OECD - Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
  6. ↑ Lobby data, OpenSecrets Archived 2011-07-28 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Analyzed and graphically processed data about lobbyism provided by OpenSecrets Archived 2011-07-28 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Official Register US - Lobbying disclosure House of Representatives
  9. ↑ Report for Congress - Lobbying Reform: Background and Legislative Proposals; RE Petersen; Congressional Research Service (2006)
  10. ↑ The Lobbying Act; The Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying, independent Agent of Parliament Canada
  11. ↑ The Lobbyists' Code of Conduct - Rule 8; The Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying, Independent Agent of Parliament Canada
  12. ↑ Court Cases and Complaints About the Canadian Federal Government Ethics Rules and Enforcement System; Democracy Watch NGO
  13. 1 2 "Commission and European Parliament launch Joint Transparency Register to shed light on all those seeking to influence European policy". European Commission. 23 June 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  14. ↑ Codex of the EU transparency register
  15. ↑ resolution of the EU Parliament; 11. May 2011; Point 5
  16. ↑ legal study: a mandatory EU Lobby register is possible; Prof. Dr. Markus Krajewski, 2013
  17. ↑ ALTER-EU: Legal framework for a mandatory EU lobby register; Friends Of The Earth Europe NGO; 2013
  18. ↑ Transparency International's assessment of the proposal for a mandatory EU Transparency Register. At http://transparency.eu/resource/transparency-internationals-assessment-of-the-proposal-for-a-mandatory-eu-transparency-register/.
  19. ↑ press release ; European parliament; Reference No.: 20110510IPR19128
  20. ↑ Rescue the EU Lobby Register; ALTER-EU initiative 2013
  21. ↑ EU Parliament to end secret lobby meetings
  22. ↑ Text adopted by EU Parliament on lobbying transparency
  23. ↑ Spinwatch (17 July 2013). "Statement on the Register of Lobbyists Bill; 2013".
  24. ↑ "Neue Ethikregeln: Kabinett beschließt Verhaltenskodex für Lobbyisten" [New Ethics Rules: Cabinet Passes Code of Conduct for Lobbyists]. spiegel.de (in German). 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  25. ↑ "Europarat bemängelt Deutschlands Kampf gegen Korruption". Die Zeit . 10 May 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  26. ↑ public list of registered trade associations, German Bundestag
  27. ↑ national integrity system report Germany (short version); 2012; Point 10; Transparency International - Germany NGO
  28. ↑ Discussion about the introduction of a new lobby register; German parliament; (available only in German)2011
  29. ↑ "Nach Bundestagsentscheidung - "Einfluss von Lobbyisten ist nach wie vor sehr groß"". Deutschlandfunk (in German). Retrieved 2016-06-14.
  30. ↑ The new lobby register of Brandenburg; 2013; Newspaper Potsdamer Neueste Nachrichten (available in German only)
  31. ↑ Bundesländer: Lobby-Transparenz ungenügend; 2013; LobbyControl
  32. ↑ Lobbyingregister; Federal Ministry of Justice Austria; (available in German only)
  33. ↑ Lobbying: An Austrian Solution - A new law seeks to curb political corruption, but critics view it as another half-hearted attempt ; The Vienna Review; 2012
  34. 1 2 Lobbying: Regulations and codes of conduct in selected countries; OECD
  35. ↑ Lobbying-Register started; 2013; Newspaper Der Standard (available in German only)
  36. ↑ "Australian Lobby Register". Archived from the original on 2018-12-01. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
  37. ↑ Lobbyist Registry Netherland
  38. ↑ "Lobby Register Slovenia". Archived from the original on 2016-03-29. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
  39. ↑ world map with facts about lobby registers

Further reading

NGOs and initiatives for lobby transparency

Wikis

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