Lobbying is an acceptable and normal part of our society and in many cases is a part of a healthy democratic process. Decision-makers can be provided with valuable information during the lobbying process.

Lobbying covers a wide variety of activities. Generally it involves the making of representations to Members of Parliament, Ministers, ministerial staff and other public officials on particular issues by special interest groups, individuals and professional advocates acting on behalf of others.

Of the 28 EU member states, only 8 have codes of conduct in place for parliamentarians. In some countries, rules of procedure cover ethical issues (Denmark and Finland). In Bulgaria and Slovenia, there have been repeated attempts to pass comprehensive codes of conduct, but the parliaments have failed to adopt them. Even where codes of conduct exist, they often include gaps, as is the case with Germany. Codes of conduct should by no means be considered a panacea to combating corruption and wrongdoing by MPs, but their value as an integrity mechanism should not be underestimated.

Mr. Zoltan I. Györke, Managing Director of AFACERI PUBLICE- PUBLIC AFFAIRS (Györke Public Affairs), a Romanian-based consultancy has joined AALEP. Zoltan graduated from the Romanian Academy in Bucharest and holds a Ph.D in History. Prior to establishing his own consulting firm, Zoltan was a personal adviser to the President of the Cluj County Council [ The Cluj County, located in Transylvania is one of the most dynamic economies in Romania and a region with the highest ranking of foreign investments.

The Federal Accountability Act, which received Royal Assent on 12 December 2006, included a new Conflict of Interest Act (CIA), which for the first time enshrined in legislation the Conflict of Interest and Post-Employment Code for Public Office Holders. The CIA also created new obligations for the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner (“the Commissioner”), whose office replaces that of the former Ethics Commissioner. The Commissioner is an Officer of Parliament appointed under section 81 of the Parliament of Canada Act (POCA).

While guidance on the accountability and responsibility of ministerial staff is somewhat limited, there are detailed standards of ethical conduct for ministerial staff with respect to conflict of interest and lobbying.

Stakeholders perceptions of company behaviour are now the lead driver of enterprise value. Studies show that companies with high reputation are worth as much as 150% more than those with low reputations. A company’s constellation of stakeholder and influence relationship is its reputation ecosystem. Reputational risk is the risk arising from negative perception on the part of customers, counterparties, shareholders, investors or regulators that can adversely affect a company's ability to maintain existing, or establish new, business relationships and continued access to sources of funding.

A critical first step in reputation management, is the building and cultivation of relationships with key constituencies. Public policy advocates need to develop strong individual relationships and cultivates them in a planned, concerted way on an ongoing basis. Building and maintaining relationships, as is true of reputation, should be viewed as a full-time effort.

According to the Dictionnaire alphabétique et analogique de la langue française (Le Robert), ethics and deontology refer in fact to rather different realities: While ethics is defined as the “science de la morale [the science of morality]” or the “art de diriger la conduite [the art of governing conduct]”, deontology is defined as the “théorie des devoirs, en morale [the theory of duty, in morality]”.

Regulating the conduct of parliamentarians will always be an ongoing process of attempting to balance the free flow of information with the integrity of elected representatives. No rule book can ever settle all the possible cases in advance. While lobbyists need to reject cronyism, back-door influence and the exchange of political favours, a parallel opportunity exists for parliamentarians today.

There is no obligation for MPs to declare their personal assets.

Training

• There is a training/initiation process on parliamentary practices and procedures for MPs
• It is provided by political parties and the Professional Services of the House
• Handbook of parliamentary procedures: Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives

Participation in the work of the Parliament