THE PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCACY LANDSCAPE IN THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

Lobbying in the countyries of the former Yugoslavia is a relatively new phenomenon, but it has been growing constantly over the last decade. However, most of the population and decision-makers have a very unclear idea of what lobbying actually is.

In all countries of the former Yugoslavia, lobbyists attempt to get an official recognition that lobbying is a unique profession.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: In BiH, even tough lobbying certainly does exist, there is no truly defined lobbying association or related law. In terms of political lobbying, the Republic of Srprska (a federal unit) is the most active entity which often hires professional lobbyists from Washington.

Croatia: In Croatia, lobbyists are organized through the Croatian Lobbyists' Society (www.hdl.com.hr), but there is no specific or general law that officially recognizes lobbying and sets rules and standards governing the interaction between lobbyists and public officials. The Association however, has its own register and code of conduct which is binding for all members.

Macedonia: Macedonia has a specific law on lobbying, first adopted in 2008 but revised in 2011. The main problem was that rules were complicated and resulted in only one lobbyist having registered since 2008. The provisions are now simplified and we will have to see what effects they produce.

Montenegro: In Montenegro, the Parliament adopted the Law on Lobbying in 2011. The initiative officially came from the Ministry of Finance of Montenegro, but it was prepared in consultations with the Montenegro Lobbyists' Society (www.ulcg.org). The Montenegro Lobbyists' Society represents professional lobbyists in the country, and also has its own compulsory code of conduct.

Slovenia: Slovenian lobbyists are professionally organized through the Slovenian Association of Lobbyists (www.slovenski-lobisti.si). The Slovenian parliament has also regulated lobbying activities, not through a specific law, but through specific lobbying clauses within a more general Law on Integrity and Prevention of Corruption in 2010. The main issue related to the articles of this law is their real-life effectivness, as there are serious problems in the enforcement of the reporting/transparency rules.

Serbia: In Serbia, lobbyists have established their professional association- the Serbian Lobbyists' Society (www.drustvolobistasrbije.org). The Association was established in 2009 and it comprises natural and legal persons engaged or interest in lobbying as well as the promotion of the lobbying profession and highly ethical principles. One  of the most important tasks that still remains to be completed is the adoption of the Law on Lobbying by the Serbian Parliament.

Serbian lobbyists have prepared a draft of this law. Moreoever, the National strategy for fighting corruption within the Government of Serbia has also indicated that adopting the law on lobbying would be an important part of fighting corruption. The current draft of the Serbian Law on Lobbying contains multiple mechanisms for enhancing transparency and ensuring that lobbying satsfies high professional and ethical standards.

However, these rules always come at a certain cost. Drafting and implementing the rules and especially their enforcement may be very costly for society and from an economic point of view it is highly desirable that they remain as simple as possible. Moreover, complicated rules may fail to serve their purpose and represent a burden for society as was the case in Slovenia, Macedonia and Hungary. Thus, besides purely legal objectives, the economic effects should be well evaluated before the adoption of any law.

In Serbia, lobbying is usually practiced by prominent law and consulting firms, but also by some high-profile individuals who are quite often former public officials or politicians which may in some instances produce conflicts of interest. Thus, it would be useful to insert the so-called cooling-off clause into the Serbian lobbying regulation. This provision would prohibit public officials to act as lobbyists or work for lobbying firms for some time upon expiration of their position in public office (e.g. two years). A lack of such rules might provoke and stimulate undesired practices in the interactions between lobbyists and public officials.