LOBBYING LANDSCAPE IN SPAIN

In Spain it is a widely held belief that money buys influence in politics. Similarly, the perception that business and corruption go hand in hand is also widespread (EU Anti-Corruption Report, European Commission 2014). According to the 2013 Eurobarometer, 77% of Spaniards believe that corruption is part of the country’s business culture, while 67% believe that the only way to succeed in business is through political connections. Moreover, a staggering 84% of people believe that bribery and connections are the easiest way to obtain public services.

These perceptions are even higher among companies- 91% of which see excessive links between money and politics, while 93% think that corruption and favouritism hurt business (Flash Eurobarometer 374, European Commission 2014). Businesses cite as commonplace many practices that are unfair, and sometimes illegal, such as favouring friends and family when conducting business, nepotism and clientelism in the public administration and opaque political party financing. As a result, trust in government is alarmingly low.

The lack of clarity around what lobbying entails, as well as the lack of democratic controls regulating lobbying practices, can often lead to mistaking lobbying with influence peddling. Thus, the state of lobbying in Spain as well as the ongoing corruption scandals create an uneasy feeling that the level playing field is not even and that the decision-making process is biased in several policy areas, in favour of the most economically powerful. The perceived and actual prevalence of corrupt practices between business and politics fuels a bad image of lobbying.

In Spain, there area weak points in lobbying policy, legal loopholes and inadequate legislation. The worst area and one which most urgently requires improvement is transparency in lobbying both by public authorities (access to information, mandatory registration of lobbyists and sanctions, legislative footprint) and by those who exercise lobbying (information disclosure).

With regard to integrity of lobbying, Spain has laws in place concerning pre- and post-public employment restrictions and codes of conduct for politicians and senior representatives, but they are not met at all times. Moreover, there is no official code of conduct for lobbyists, and self-regulation is under development but still insufficient.

With regard to the equality of access of citizens and interest groups to public officials (consultation and public participation in decision-making processes, as well as the balanced composition of expert groups and advisors), the formal reality allows and ensures, within limits, that legally recognized organisations in Spain are able to influence certain areas of decision-making, but yet a great informality persists in the way that other sectoral and focused groups practice lobbying. This area of informal influence is where the vast majority of cases of undue influence, and even corruption occur.

Corruption Risks and bad or unethical practices:

• Financing of political parties
• Lack of access to information and transparency in decision-making processes.
• Lack of consultation and participation in decision-making
• Regulatory and technical capture.
• Conflicts of interest and compatibilities
• Revolving doors

 Note: Please also see Towards Lobbying Regulation in Spain on this website.