THE NEW GERMAN LOBBYING FRAMEWORK

Just two years after the introduction of a mandatory lobby register, Germany significantly tightened the rules around lobbying activities and widened the scope of activities captured by the framework.

Registration

The amended German Lobbying Act came into force on March 1, 2024. Registered lobbyists had until June 30, 2024, to update their existing register entries.

The law applies to employees who perform lobbying activities on behalf their employer and third-party lobbyists working toward influencing the decision-making process of the German Parliament (including its bodies, members, parliamentary groups or other groups) or the federal government, directly or indirectly.

Depending on the intentions of the person reaching out to the decision-maker, the mere establishing of contact (regardless of the means of communication) can be in scope of the law. This can include grassroots campaigns where a government relations department or a lobbying organization uses the public as an intermediary to deliver a message to the decision-makers at the Parliament or government.

Registration is obligatory for lobbyists acting on a regular, continuous or commercial basis. Engaging in as few as three lobbying contacts can cause a registration obligation under the regular interest representation if performed with the intention to continue contacting covered officials.

Continuous interest representation is carried out systematically over a long period of time. Sending one email to one member of Parliament can trigger the registration obligation if done on a commercial basis.

Additionally, there is a catch-all clause: Engaging in more than 30 lobbying contacts with covered officials within three months always triggers the obligation to register, regardless of whether the contact constituted a regular, continuous or commercial activity. That means sending the same mass email to 30 members of Parliament would typically trigger the registration obligation under this clause.

Lobbyists who want to have physical access to the Parliament also must register.

The administrative body of the Parliament can impose fines for noncompliance with the obligation to:

• register (including fines for past-due registrations),
• disclose all required information (including for disclosing insufficient information), or
• provide an annual update to the disclosed information.

Intentional violations can result in fines of up to €50,000, while negligent violations can lead to fines of up to €20,000. There are currently around 100 known cases of registrants who failed to update their entries in time.

Key Updates

The recent changes to the German Lobbying Act tighten the rules in four material ways.

1. More individuals are considered “lobbying targets.” The recent amendment broadens the scope of lobbying targets. Before March 2024, discussing legislative projects with government employees without decision-making powers and with division heads ("Referatsleiter") (government officials with some decision-making powers) did not constitute lobbying and did not trigger a registration obligation. Only ministers, department heads and subdepartment heads were considered valid targets of lobbying within the meaning of the law. The parameters have been broadened to include division heads (around 600 individuals). However, government employees without decision-making powers are still out of scope.
2. Companies that engage third-party lobbyists are required to register. Those who hire lobbyists to lobby on their behalf also qualify as lobbyists and therefore must register. This had been the intent in the old rules, but it was never enforced due to a lack of clarity in the wording. The new rules have removed that uncertainty. The obligation for the client to register is now triggered by any contractual relationship between the client and a third-party lobbyist for the representation of special interests, whether or not that relationship has been officially commissioned and includes financial compensation.
3. Financial information must be disclosed. Registered lobbyists must disclose additional information, and the option to not disclose has been removed. Under the old rules, this included information on their consulting areas, activities, clients, number of employees engaging in lobbying, funding and expenses. More than 1,000 registrants chose not to disclose financial information — a decision that was made public. Under the revised law, lobbyists must disclose all subsidies, donations and contributions they make in the course of their lobbying activities.
4. Lobbyists are required to leave a “legislative footprint.” The Act also introduces a “legislative footprint” rule, under which lobbyists must disclose which piece of legislation they targeted in their lobbying activities.

Stricter Enforcement

The Register Administration — the agency that oversees the lobby register — now has greater authority to investigate potential breaches of the German Lobbying Act and request evidence from the registrants for the disclosed information. The agency can also remove registrants permanently from the lobby register.

Under the new law, registrants must electronically confirm their entries and updates with the Register Administration. Noncompliance with this electronic confirmation obligation is a new offense and may lead to a fine of up to €50,000, or €20,000 if committed negligently.

In sum, the new German Lobby Act has a broader scope of application, additional disclosure requirements and stricter enforcement.