TI RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING LOBBYING TRANSPARENCY IN 19 EU MEMBER STATES

AUSTRIA

• Provide public access to the lobbying register.
• Level the playing field for all lobbyists.
• Introduce cooling-off periods for politicians before moving from politics to business.

BULGARIA

• Тhe National Assembly and the government must introduce adequate (including legal) instruments that support transparent and ethical lobbying. In particular, they should utilise the legislative footprint tool. This would provide detailed information on who sought to influence legislation, what piece of legislation was targeted and by which channels influence was sought.
• The National Assembly must introduce a Public Registry of all organisations that submit written opinions on draft bills to the parliamentary committees. The register should include information on the name and headquarters of the organisation. Members of the management board, fields of expertise and type of represented interests should also be provided.
• The National Assembly should adopt a parliamentary Ethics Code in order to develop the ethical infrastructure within the National Assembly as a step towards restoring public trust in the democratic functioning of the legislature.

CYPRUS

• Address the lack of meaningful regulation for lobbying within the broader integrity framework, including regulation in access to information, whistleblower protection, asset declaration, conflict of interests and revolving doors.
• Create a compulsory 'Lobbied register' for MPs and high-ranking governmental officials, which would disclose information about their meetings and encounters with lobbyists.
• Create a formal ‘Lobby register’, which will be publicly available on the Parliament’s website for all interested stakeholders wishing to be heard by Parliamentary Committees.

CZECH REPUBLIC

• The government should strengthen transparency of legislation and decision-making processes through opening the draft legislation library (so called “eKlep”) to the public and introducing a “legislative footprint” into legislative procedures.
• The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate should prepare and adopt a Code of Ethics for Parliamentarians.
• Companies engaged in lobbing, Public Affairs Companies, Chambers of Commerce and professional associations should make public their lobbying objectives and their lobbying contacts with the government and Parliament representatives, to the extent possible.

ESTONIA

• Introduce a legislative footprint in order to follow how drafts become laws.
• Improve consultation practices: publish legislative drafts earlier and include information on the input provided by interest groups.
• Establish codes of conduct and self-regulation mechanisms for lobbyists and public sector employees. Larger NGOs, trade and industry organizations should work on self-regulation.

FRANCE

• Define in the law the terms “lobbying”, “lobbyists” and “lobbying targets” and the three principles of regulation (transparency, integrity and equality of access).
• Policy-makers should publish their meetings with lobbyists and the contributions they receive from them in the form of a “legislative footprint”.
• Lobbyists should develop ethical lobbying practices coherent with its governance, CSR and anti-corruption commitments.

GERMANY

• Introduce a mandatory lobbyist register, together with a code of conduct and an oversight agency for transparency and lobby control, with the power to sanction.
• Make additional income of members of the Bundestag transparent, with mandatory publication in Euros and cents.
• Instate a legislative footprint for government drafts, documenting which external expertise was involved with the preparation of the draft bill and at what stage.

HUNGARY

• Reinstate democratic checks and balances.
• Improve access to government information.
• Develop future lobby regulation that is effective.

IRELAND

• Introduce a mandatory two year ‘cooling-off’ period before senior public officials and elected representatives can work in positions that may create or be seen to create conflicts of interest.
• Overhaul ethics laws and codes of conduct and ensure that public officials receive training on appropriate standards in public life, including how they should engage with lobbyists.
• Give the Lobbying Registrar a legal responsibility to proactively verify lobbying returns and to ‘name and shame’ those found to have breached the law.

ITALY

• Introduce a public register of lobbyists, entrusted to a super partes authority. It should be compulsory and provide transparency and reporting requirements.
• Oblige MPs to publish details of meetings with interest groups and ensure that all access to Parliament and Ministries is registered and made public.
• Regulate the revolving door phenomenon through the introduction of cooling-off periods.

LATVIA

• Recognise that lobbying and lobbyists are part of the normal processes of democracy.
• Ensure transparency of decision-making processes by improving legislative footprint legislation and its implementation.
• Improve the integrity of public officials, deputies and related employees in the public sector, by providing training, improving declaration of conflicts of interests and ensuring research capacity at Parliamentary level.

LITHUANIA

• Broaden the definition of lobbyists required to register, so that all lobbying activities can be monitored and are made open and transparent.
• Ensure that the law requires all attempts to influence decision making to be registered publicly.
• Review the role of the Chief Official Ethics Commission, ensuring that this institution has an effective mandate to oversee lobbying activities.

NETHERLANDS

• Introduce a legislative/decision-making footprint. All legislative proposals should include a ‘footprint’ which would track and summarise external input and contact between lobbyists and public officials/representatives.
• Repeal the so-called “Lobbyists-register” at the House of Representatives and introduce a mandatory register of lobbyists, with detailed disclosure of information about their activities.
• Introduce post-employment “cooling off” periods for all former public officials and public representatives before they can work as lobbyists (2 years).

POLAND

• Overhaul the current law or adopt a new law on professional lobbying.
• Revise and improve regulation concerning a) asset declarations of persons performing public functions and b) pre- and post-employment.
• Revise regulation that enables different groups of stakeholders (civil society organizations, trade unions, business organizations) to participate in decision-making processes.

PORTUGAL

• Regulate lobbying activities, introduce a registry and disclose agendas and meetings of office holders with representatives of interest groups.
• Create a legislative footprint”.
• Strengthen the regulation and monitoring of conflict of interests of holders of political office and high public office.

SLOVAKIA

• Make the Interdepartmental Comments Procedure portal more open and transparent. The legislative process would improve with a clearer and more comprehensive process for commenting on draft legislation.
• The government should establish minimum “cooling-off periods” before former public and elected officials can work in positions that may create conflicts of interest.
• The government should develop legislation to include a comprehensive definition of lobbying, lobbyists and lobbying targets, which are applicable in other laws.

SLOVENIA

• Enhance transparency obligations and the oversight of lobbying in practice through legal regulation.
• Implement a comprehensive “legislative footprint”, as an annex to each piece of new legislation, by using relevant IT tools.
• Raise awareness on ethical and transparent lobbying, thereby achieving greater engagement of stakeholders and ensuring that all lobbying contacts are reported by decision makers.

SPAIN

• Improve information disclosure through a mandatory and comprehensive register of lobbyists; and by public officials through reporting contacts, work agendas and meeting minutes.
• Ensure the impartiality and independence of the Conflicts of Interest Office, and the rigorous application of the legislation concerning conflicts of interest and incompatibilities.
• Strengthen oversight over political finance, in particular ban donations by businesses and establish controls to the financing of political party foundations.

UNITED KINGDOM

• All UK parliamentary chambers and assemblies should operate to consistently high rules, replacing the current ineffective and confusing patchwork.
• Require more effective transparency on the part of lobbyists.
• Restrict political financing and more effectively regulate the revolving door.