Basics EU lobbying

IF YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT

EUROPE,EUROPE TAKES CARE OF YOU

Jacques FolonPartner EDGE CONSULTING

Chargé de cours ICHEC

Maître de conférences Université de Liège

Visiting Professor Université de Metz

Visiting Professor ISFSC, HE F.Ferrer

Basics of EU Lobbying

EU Lobbying

2

Table of Content1. What is lobbying?2. The EU institutions3. The EU Legislative process4. Why lobbying?5. Who are the lobbyists?6. How to lobby?7. What do the lobbied think ?8. The lobbyist’s code of conduct9. There are still some open questions

What do you think is a lobbyist?

What is lobbying ? Latin „lobia“ => lobby, anteroom Origin lies in England in the 17th century:

approaching members of Parliament in the anteroom of the English House of Commons

„Practice of advocacy with the goal of influencing the legislative of executive bodies by promoting a point of view that is conducive to an individual's or organization's goals”

Negative connotation, but political reality

6http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ77o706BfM

Nice way to present it

• “ ‘Lobbyist’ has never been a good word. I grew up in Delaware, and I had to give a speech (...). There were about 50 guys who all knew my family very well, and I said, ‘because of the work I do, I am a registered lobbyist, but please do not tell my mother. She still thinks I’m a piano player at a whorehouse and would be horrified to find out I was a lobbyist’

• Anonymous US lobbyist

• “The lobbyist’s book of quotes“, by Ch. de Fouloy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMKoDiE-PiY&feature=player_embedded#

Country Rules Governing Lobbyists Australia As of 1 July 2008 there are national rules in place and a register. Originally formulated

and implemented in the 1980s, lobbying rules were then abandoned in 1996. Western Australia (2006), New South Wales (2009), Queensland (2009)

Austria No statutory rulesBelgium No statutory rulesB o s n i a a n d Herzegovina

No statutory rules

Canada Federal Level: Rules and Register since the Lobbyists Registration Act of 1989, amended in 1995, 2003 and 2008. Provincial Level: Lobbying regulations exist in Ontario (1998); Nova Scotia (2001); British Columbia (2001); Quebec (2002); Newfoundland (2005) and Alberta (2007).

Coratia No statutory rulesDenmark No statutory rules Estonia No statutory rulesEU: European Parliament

Regulated by Rule 9(2) of the Rules of Procedure, 1996.

EU: Commission

Before 2008, ‘self-regulation’ was the model adopted by the Commission. However, as of 23 June, 2008, the Commission opened a voluntary register of interest representations.

EU: Council No statutory rules

France Indicated its aim to introduce a voluntary parliamentary run register – July 2009.Germany Regulation and registration through rules of procedure of the Bundestag in 1951; later

amended in 1975 and 1980.

Source: Regulating Lobbying: Promoting Transparency or Straw Man, Presented by: Professor Gary Murphy, Dublin City University TCD, 12th March 2010

Hungary Regulation of Lobbying Activity since 2006.Iceland No statutory rulesJapan No statutory rulesLatvia No statutory rulesLithuania Regulation since 2001. Luxembourg No statutory rulesIndia No statutory rulesIreland No statutory rulesItaly No statutory rules at national level. Nevertheless, regional schemes have been

introduced in the Consiglio regionale della Toscana in 2002 and Regione in 2004.

Japan No statutory rulesMalta No statutory rulesNetherland No statutory rulesNew Zealand No statutory rulesNorway No statutory rulesPoland Regulations since 2005.Portugal No statutory rulesRep Korea No statutory rulesRomania No statutory rules


Serbia No statutory rulesSlovakia No statutory rulesSlovenia No statutory rulesSpain No statutory rulesSweden No statutory rulesTaiwan Lobbying Act passed on 8/8/2007, came into force on 8/8/2008. Turkey No statutory rulesU n i t e d Kingdom

No statutory rules in either Commons or House of Lords.

United States Federal Level: The Lobbying Act 1946, amended in 1995 and 2007. State Level: All states have lobbying regulations.


Table of Content1. What is lobbying?2. The EU institutions• The EU Legislative process• Why lobbying?• Who are the lobbyists?• How to lobby?• What do the lobbied think ?• The lobbyist’s code of conduct• There are still some open questions

Europe or Europe(s)

Many institutions

• Europe in OECD, WTO,… • Schengen• Economic and social comittee• Committee of the regions• European Investment bank• European environment Agency• Europol• Group of 27• Etc…

EUROPEAN COMMISSIONproposes, manages, regulates

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTcomments, amends, decides

COUNCIL OF MINISTERSnegotiates, decides

MEMBER STATEimplements

EUROPEAN COURTadjudicates

ECONOMIC AND

SOCIAL COMMITTEE

represents economic and social groups

COMMITTEE OF

THE REGIONS

represents local governments

EUROPEAN COUNCILsets the agenda

The EU Institutions

Everything is on the Web

Reminder…

Eight long years

•Laeken declaration 15 December 2001.

•Convention with 3 objectives

• Clarification of competences• Simplification• more democracy and transparency

• 24/10/2004 constitution signed but …•Referendum in the Netherlands and France•Reflexion period …•Minimal treaty to be signed before the end of 2007

EU Summit Lisbon 13/12/2007Then two years of ratification including

Ireland and Polish and Tchek hesitations

1/12/2009 it is done !

One bloc: the European Union

3 treaties Lisbon Maastricht Rome

The EU is (finally) a legal entity

Lisbon Treaty is 152 pages of technical jargon modifying the Rome and Maastricht treaty 13 protocoles59 declarations

Remember it was supposed to be simple !!!!!

What is new?

O n e p r e s i d e n t o f t h e European council(and not the president of Europe!)

A VP of the Commission high representative for external affairs and security

More competences for the EU Parliament

More codecision

Sort of referendum (one million eu citizens)

Commission

Until 2014 one commissioner by member stateA f t e r 2 0 1 4 n u m b e r o f commissioner = 2/3 number of member states

More powers for the president o f t h e c o m m i s s i o n ( b y i n s t a n c e t o f i r e o n e commissioner).

Table of Content1. What is lobbying?2. The EU institutions3. The EU Legislative process• Why lobbying?• Who are the lobbyists?• How to lobby?• What do the lobbied think ?• The lobbyist’s code of conduct• There are still some open questions

The legal process

The European Parliament

Direct election

Part of the codecisionProposals are discussed in commission then in plenaryFor each text a rapporteur within the committee« shadow rapporteur » for each political groupRapporteur and « shadow rapporteurs » from other committee

A « coordinator » in each political group

Plenary Room Strasbourg

EU Parliament by political group

Men - women

Committees

•Passing European laws

•In many areas, such as consumer protection and the environment, Parliament works together with the Council (representing national governments) to decide on the content of EU laws and officially adopt them. This process is called "Ordinary legislative procedure" (ex "co-decision").•Under the Lisbon Treaty, the range of policies covered by the new ordinary legislative procedure has increased, giving Parliament more power to influence the content of laws in areas including agriculture, energy policy, immigration and EU funds.•Parliament must also give its permission for other important decisions, such as allowing new countries to join the EU.

•Democratic supervision

•Parliament exercises influence over other European institutions in several ways.•When a new Commission is appointed, its 27 members – one from each EU country – cannot take up office until Parliament has approved them. If the Members of the European Parliament disapprove of a nominee, they can reject the entire slate.•Parliament can also call on the Commission to resign during its period in office. This is called a 'motion of censure’.•Parliament keeps check on the Commission by examining reports it produces and by questioning Commissioners. Its committees play an important part here.•MEPs look at petitions from citizens and sets up committees of inquiry.•When national leaders meet for European Council summits, Parliament gives its opinion on the topics on the agenda.

•Supervising the budget

•Parliament adopts the EU’s annual budget with the Council of the European Union.•Parliament has a committee that monitors how the budget is spent, and every year passes judgement on the Commission's handling of the previous year's budget.

Code of Conduct for MEP• Financial declaration

• MEPs will have to state, publicly and on line, any professional activity performed during the three years before their election, as well as any membership of any board of companies, NGOs and/or associations held during that period or currently.

• Any remunerated activity undertaken during the term of office, including writing, lecturing and providing expert advice, even if occasional, will have to be made public if it earns more than €5,000 a year.

• Financial support of any nature and any financial interest that may cause a conflict of interests will also have to be disclosed. Any change to the declaration must be notified within 30 days and in the event of failure, the member will no longer be eligible to hold offices within Parliament.

• Sanctions

• Should the code be breached, and upon a decision by the President after having consulted an advisory committee, a member may be sanctioned with a reprimand, a forfeiture of the daily allowance from two up to ten days, temporary suspension from Parliament's activities (not including the right to vote) for a maximum of 10 days, or the loss of the role of rapporteur or other elected offices within Parliament (for the latter two sanctions, a confirmatory decision by the President is needed). Any such sanctions will be published on Parliament's web site.

• Former MEPs

• Former MEPs who subsequently work as lobbyists in a field directly linked to EU affairs will not benefit from the facilities otherwise provided, during the time of such activity.

• Advisory committee

Commission

• Initiative• Executive• Safegard of the treaty• Represent the Union• Competition authorithy

Source: touteleurope.eu

Commission’s different documents

DG/Département Juridique

Action plan initiatives to come within 12 to 60 months

Green book open document subject to discussions

White book document with a claer goal subject to discussion

Communication ideas subject to discussions

DirectiveMust be transformed in national law

Reglement immediately applicable in the member states

Development of a proposalDraft Proposal from DG Responsible

Inter-service consultation: Other DGs consulted

Legal Services Examination

Heads of Cabinet

Commission College:Adoption of the Proposal

Council

The basics…• Consists of Member State representatives

• Meets in different formations according to policy areas (e.g.: Environment, Agriculture, Health)

• Main decision-making body of EU– Co-legislator with Parliament– Concludes international agreements on behalf of EU

• Decision making:– Decisions by qualified majority with system of weighted votes– Shifting alliances– Slowing down with 27 Member States

Source: Your Guide to EU Lobbying & Social Media Caroline De Cock



• Rotating Presidency every six months

• New role for council president ?

• In practice, depending on the Member State each Presidency is different and quality varies

EU Council Presidency

The Council: internal structure

Council of Ministers

COREPER

Council Working Groups

Presidency: manages process

andwork-flow

Input from Member States

Council Working Groups

- Member State Officials- Attachés

28 Delegationscomposed of

Tour de table= 135 minutes

The « compromis à la belge » system • The H word: Harmonisation.• What does it means• Where does it start?

– Your company– Your region compromise 1– Your country compromise 2– Your national federation compromise 3– The eu organization compromise 4– The co-decision compromise 5– The various lobbies compromise 6– The final text compromise 7– The implementation compromise 8– That’s harmonization folks…

EU TRIANGLE

Counsel

Member states

Commission

EU Voice

Parliament

Citizen’s voices

Relations entre institutions

PARLEMENT EUROPEEN

[785 députés]

COMMISSION EUROPEENNE

[27 commissaires]

COUR DE JUSTICE

Respect du droitcommunautaire

PropositionExécution

CONSEIL EUROPEEN[Chefs d ’Etat et de gouvernement + le Président de la Commission]

Impulsion politique

COMITE ECONOMIQUE

ET SOCIAL

COMITEDES REGIONSCOUR DES COMPTES

Consultation

Contrôle des Finances communautaires

CONSEIL DES MINISTRES[27 pays]

Contrôle

Vote

OCT 01

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (EP)

COUNCIL OF MINISTERS (EU MEMBER STATES)

COMMISSION PROPOSAL

EP PLENARY VOTE (1st READING)

COUNCIL ADOPTS COMMON POSITION (1st

STAGE AGREEMENT)

OCT 02

NOV 03

COUNCIL AGREES AND ADOPTS

COREPER REJECTS SOME EP AMENDMENTS

EP AND COUNCIL MEET TO NEGOTIATE

COMPROMISE TEXT (CONCILIATION PROCEDURE)

DIRECTIVE IS ADOPTED REJECTION

JAN 04

OCT 02

MEMBER STATES IMPLEMENT DIRECTIVE INTO NATIONAL LEGISLATION / REQUIREMENTS OF REGULATION BECOME APPLICABLE

EP COMMITTEES DISCUSS DRAFT REPORT/OPINIONS

OCT 03

DEC 03

COMMISSION AMENDED PROPOSAL

FEB-APRIL 04

MAY 02

EP ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE VOTE

EP ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE DISCUSSION

EP PLENARY VOTE (2nd READING)

EP ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE VOTE

EC

EP

EP

EP

EP

EP

EP

EP

EP ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE RECEIVES COMMON POSITION (2nd

READING)

JAN 04

EP

No later than 18 months after adoption

CL FEB 04

OCT 01EP

EC: CommissionCL: CouncilEP: Parliament

RAPPORTEURS TABLE DRAFT REPORTS/OPINIONS

TRIALOGUE (EP, COM, COUNCIL)

RAPPORTEURS APPOINTED

NOV 03CL

DEADLINE FOR AMENDMENTS

CL JUNE 03

HEALTH WORKING GROUP MEETINGS

JAN 04EC

COUNCIL HEALTH WORKING GROUP

INTENSE NEGOTIATIONS

COMMISSION AMENDED PROPOSAL

Co-Decision is now the norm

Be at the right place at the right timeStages Addressee for Lobbying

Commission proposal

Council (Working Group, Coreper, Council of Ministers) - First Reading

European Parliament

First reading

Common Position of the Council

European Parliament – second reading

poss. Conciliation procedure–3rd reading

Adoption of legislation

ConsultationI. Working/Strategy Paper

II. Green/White Book, CommunicationIII. Online Consultation

IV. HearingAttending hearing

European Commission

Addressing author of documents

Responsible National Ministry

MEP’s in responsible committee, Rapporteur

(Commission)

Attending hearing(poss. Hearing of experts)


MEP’s in responsible committee

Rapporteur

Rapporteur


Table of Content1. What is lobbying?2. The EU institutions3. The EU Legislative process4. Why lobbying?• Who are the lobbyists?• How to lobby?• What do the lobbied think ?• The lobbyist’s code of conduct• There are still some open questions

Brussels the place to be !80% of national law comes from EUNecessary to be there in order to anticipate to be heard on time

Commission

Lobbyist

Committees (national experts and European Commission)

Committees of the european Parliament

Permanent Representation

to the European inst.

Council‘s Working Groups

European Parliament

European Economic and Social Committee

COREPER

Lobbyist

Council

European Court of Justice

Member States

EU-citizens

Lobbyist

Opinion Opinion

Proposal

OpinionOpinion

Directive

Regulation

EU – Legislative proces and the lobbyists

Lobbyist

Brussels the place to be: everybody is there, so...

Commission Parlement Conseil des Ministres

Services financiers

FBE, EACB, ESBG,GEBC, EUROFINAS,

EFAMA, CEA, …)

Think tanks(Eurofi, Bruegel,

CEPS, EPC, …)

Consultants enAffaires UE &

cabinets d’avocat

Medias & journaux

Syndicatsd’industrie locaux

(MEDEF, FBF, AFG, …)

Secteur privé(Crédit Agricole S.A., Daimler Chrysler, …)

Les régions & Collectivités

locales

ONG

Organisations Internationales

(NUs, Banque Mondiale, …)

Chambres de commerce et d’industrie

Groupes de Consommateurs

(BEUC)

Représentations des

Etats membres

Syndicats de branche d’activité

(Business Europe, EBIC, ACEA, CEFIC, …)

Syndicats de Travailleurs

(ETUC, …)

Veille règlementaire européenne

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ecti

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juri

diqu

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Aff

aire

s Eu

ropé

enne

s

Dir

ecti

on

stra

tégi

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Dir

ecti

on

Econ

omiq

ue

Lign

es d

e m

étie

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Syndicats d’industrie(FBE, FBF,

EACB, GEBC,Eurofinas, …)

Think tank

Consultants spécialisés Affaires UE Medias &

journauxInstitutions

Européennes

Correspondant à Bruxelles

Table of Content1. What is lobbying?2. The EU institutions3. The EU Legislative process4. Why lobbying?5. Who are the lobbyists?• How to lobby?• What do the lobbied think ?• The lobbyist’s code of conduct• There are still some open questions

72http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgA5gL_peNI

Lobbies in Brussels

approx. 5000 organisations representing various interests

approx. 30.000 lobbyists approx. 30.000 commission officials (40% of them are

translators and interpreters)

Almost 1 lobbyist per commission official

What are interest groups?

• An interest group (also called an advocacy group, lobbying group, pressure group (UK), or special interest) is a group, however loosely or tightly organized, doing advocacy: those determined to encourage or prevent changes in public policy without trying to be elected.

Lobbying• Lobbying is an attempt to

influence policy-makers to adopt a course of action advantageous, or not detrimental, to a particular group or interest.

• A lobbyist is a person employed by a group, firm, region or country to carry

Theoretical approaches• Negative ideas on power of interest groups.

• Some authors find the existence of the interest groups as disturbing democratic process.

• For these Authors, powerful groups dominate politics and impose their own interests at the extend of common interests.

• Different from political parties, they are not aspiring for formal political power both in the government or in the parliament.

• As such they are not subject to democratic control (via election). They participate in the political process through lobbies with representatives and government officials.

• Pluralism.

• The main character of a democratic system is competition of interest.

• Common interests are not what the state defines, but a result of political bargaining in the society, in the diversity of interests represented by various autonomous interest groups.

Theoretical approaches

Theoretical approaches• Corporatism. • This theory assumes a close association between state and

interest groups.

• Interest groups within this system have special characteristics: officially recognised, monopoly of representation within particular sectors.

• It is political participation of different style or, more appropriately, part of a regulation system rather than competitive participation in the political process.

• It does not reflect the influence of the society’s interests. Rather it reflects the problems of conflicts of society’s interests

Main types of IG’s in the EU• Private interests, pursuing specific economic

goals– 1300 (plus 270 law firms and consultancies)

• Public interest bodies, pursuing non-economic aims– 300 (plus 40 think tanks)

• Governmental actors, representing different levels of government but not forming part of the national administration of member states– 360 (embassies, regional bureaus, cities)

Private economic interests• Most represented

– 150 groups – chemical industry– 140 groups – food and drink sector– 88 groups – agriculture and fisheries

• Best represented – Pan-european groups:– Business Europe– European Trades Union Confederation (ETUC)– Committee of Agricultural Organizations (COPA) – They also participate in the Economic and Social

Committee of the European Commission

Private economic interests

• The biggest enterprises are not only members of different interest groups but have their own lobbying offices in Brussels (Philips, IBM, Philip Morris)

• 320 major European enterprises have full-time EU public affairs directors

• Chambers of commerce don’t come only from EU countries but also from the US, Turkey, Norway, Morocco, or the Philippines

Public interest bodies

• Among the most active are environmental, public health, human rights, animal welfare NGOs

• Also includes think tanks• Many smaller organizations actually get

funding by the EU

Governmental Actors

• 167 Non-EU country embassies– Mostly try to influence EUs trade and aid

policies

• Delegations from local authorities or regional bodies: German Länder, Scottish Executive, …– some of the delegations are cross-border

enterprises


CouncilAdoption

Commission(amendments)

Parliament(2nd reading)

Council = Common Position

COREPER

Council Working Group

Commission proposal

24/30 months

Commiss

ion in

volve

ment t

hrou

ghou

t

ConciliationEP/Council

Commission (revision)

Parliament (1st reading)Council Working Group

The Lobbying pyramid

How to Lobby the council

• Influencing the Council can be done at two levels:– National governments and ministries– Permanent representations in Brussels

• Important to build support around an issue in enough member states so as to ensure a majority or a blocking minority

• Lobbying the government is key in order to influence the Council’s position

How to lobby the commission• The Commission is a technocratic body, and officials respond to data and

arguments

• However, when lobbying you need to be aware of different DGs’ political priorities, and those of the Commissioner

• One DG is responsible for a dossier, but agreement is reached by the Commission as a whole and different DGs interact throughout out the adoption process of a proposal

• Within the same DG, it is important to work your way up the Commission’s structure: from the policy officer to the head of unit, to the Director and finally the Cabinet.

• The right moment to influence the Commission is when they are in process of drafting the proposal

• During the adoption of legislation the Commission is present at each stage of the discussions and a key player, do not underestimate its influence

Checklist of key points• Know your business objective• Understand the system: its

politics and processes• Establish the right lobbying

objective• Obtain good intelligence • Review and revise strategy in

real-time• It is a process – start early and

follow through• Consistency and co-ordination

are keywords• Contact is key – with politicians,

officials, others• Build relationships

Influencing the Enlarged EU:Conclusions for Business

• Start early in the process• Mobilise support• Target the right actors• Build and maintain relationships• Increase focus on the EP• Watch out for a “multi-speed Europe”

The Burson-Marsteller Campaign Model

Checklist: effective EU-Lobbying• Do I have all and up-to-date information?

• What is my objective? Clear, precise and “European” arguments, anticipate counter-arguments

• Who is my target group? Technical or political level?

• Language?

• How do I communicate my position? Conversation, position paper, public consultation, media?

• When is the best time? In time before and during formal decision process.

Table of Content1. What is lobbying?2. The EU institutions3. The EU Legislative process4. Why lobbying?5. Who are the lobbyists?6. How to lobby?7. What do the lobbied think ?• The lobbyist’s code of conduct• There are still some open questions

The results of the Burson-‐Marsteller 2009 Lobbying Survey

Effec%veness of lobbying: Industry vs. NGO

Poor prac(ces frequently commited

Good Lobbyists…(Commission view)• Provide balanced views• Target information• Give practical solutions• Mobilise other interest groups• Don’t waste time• Work in partnership with officials• React to requests• Keep in touch• Make timely interventions• Lobby EU capitals as well as Brussels

Bad Lobbyists…(Commission view)• Lack understanding of what Commission

can/can’t do• Don’t compromise• don’t give facts and figures• Intervene too late• Bombard officials with E-mails• Are aggressive• Provide general information • Are unfocused• Rely on one-off contacts

In Conclusion:Lobbying the EU System

• Integral to EU legislative & regulatory system

• Welcome if conducted in an ethical manner

• Effective if intelligent and professional

• Influence a function of interests represented

FINAL THOUGHTS…

• « Everybody is a foreigner in Brussels »

• Effectiveness = strategy and performance

• « Networking » is the differentiating factor

• “Trust” is the essential personal asset

Table of Content1. What is lobbying?2. The EU institutions3. The EU Legislative process4. Why lobbying?5. Who are the lobbyists?6. How to lobby?7. What do the lobbied think ?8. The lobbyist’s code of conduct• There are still some open questions

Code of conduct

Interest representatives are expected to apply the principles of openness, transparency, honesty and integrity, as legitimately expected of them by citizens and other

stakeholders.Similarly, Members of the Commission and staff are bound by strict rules ensuring their impartiality. The

relevant provisions are public and contained in the Treaty establishing the European Community, the Staff Regulations,

the Code of Conduct for Commissioners and the Code of good administrative behaviour.

RULES : Interest representatives shall always:

1.identify themselves by name and by the entity(ies) they work for or represent;2.not misrepresent themselves as to the effect of registration to mislead third parties and/or EU staff;3.declare the interests, and where applicable the clients or the members, which they represent;4.ensure that, to the best of their knowledge, information which they provide is unbiased, complete, up-to-date and not misleading;5.not obtain or try to obtain information, or any decision, dishonestly;6.not induce EU staff to contravene rules and standards of behaviour applicable to them;7.if employing former EU staff, respect their obligation to abide by the rules and confidentiality requirements which apply to them.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddq9WDo3Aoc

Problems of Lobbying in the EU

• Distorted information is provided to the EU institutions about the possible economic, social or environmental impact of draft legislative proposals.

• Modern communication technologies (internet and e-mail) make it easy to organise mass campaigns for or against a given cause, without the EU institutions being able to verify to what extent these campaigns reflect the genuine concerns of EU citizens.

The legitimacy of interest representation by European NGOs is sometimes questioned because some NGOs seem to rely on financial support from the EU budget as well as on political and financial support from their members.

• By contrast, according to many NGOs, there is no level playing field in lobbying because the corporate sector is able to invest more financial resources in lobbying.

• In general terms, there is criticism about the lack of information about the lobbyists active at EU level, including the financial resources which they have at their disposal.

And the war is clearly not finished

http://www.alter-eu.org/

Future regulations ?

• Should not be a matter of voluntarily complying like current EU Commission

• Regulations - codified, formal rules passed by government and written in law that is enforced and must be respected.

• Noncompliance results in penalisation, fines or jail.


Examples of such rules:• Register with the state before contact can be made with

public officials, • Indicate which public actors the lobbyist intends to influence, • Provide state with individual/employer spending reports • Have a publicly available list with lobbyists details available

for citizens to scrutinize,• Former legislators cannot immediately become lobbyists

once they have left public office (‘cooling off’ period).

Theoretical justification is based on ensuring transparency and accountability.


• Germany, the EP, the EU Commission, and Poland.

Characteristics:• Individual registration, but little details given• Does not recognize executive branch lobbyists.• No rules on individual spending disclosure.• Weak system for on-line registration• Lobbyists lists are available to the public, but not all details collected/

given • No Cooling-Off period – exception Poland and EU Commission.

Lowly Regulated Systems


• All Canadian jurisdictions, several US states, Lithuania, Hungary, all Australian jurisdictions and Taiwan.

Characteristics:• Individual registration more detailed• Recognizes executive branch lobbyists - exception Hungary• Some regulations on individual spending disclosures - exception

Australia federal• On-line registration (Ontario very efficient ) • Public access to frequently updated lobbying register• State agency conducts mandatory reviews/audits• Cooling off period before former legislators can register as lobbyists -

exception Hungary.

Medium Regulated Systems


• America federal and states.

Characteristics:• Rigorous rules on individual registration • Recognizes executive branch lobbyists• Strong regulations on individual spending disclosure• Strong regulations on employer spending disclosure • On-line registration• Public access to frequently updated lobbying register• State agency conducts mandatory reviews/audits – with statutory

penalties for late/incomplete filing of registration form. • Cooling off period before former legislators can register as lobbyists

Highly Regulated Systems


Lowly Regulated Systems

Medium Regulated Systems

Highly Regulated Systems

Registrationregulations

R u l e s o n i n d i v i d u a l registration, but few details required

R u l e s o n i n d i v i d u a l registration, more details required

R u l e s o n i n d i v i d u a l registration are extremely rigorous

Targets of Lobbyists Defined

O n l y m e m b e r s o f t h e legislature and staff

Members of the legislature and staff; executive and staff; agency heads and public servants/officers

Members of the legislature and staff; executive and staff; agency heads and public servants/officers

Spending disclosure

No rules on individual spending disclosure, or e m p l o y e r s p e n d i n g disclosure

S o m e r e g u l a t i o n s o n i n d i v i d u a l s p e n d i n g disclosure; none on employer spending disclosure

T i g h t r e g u l a t i o n s o n i n d i v i d u a l s p e n d i n g disclosure, and employer spending disclosure

Electronic filing Weak on-line registration and paperwork required

Robust system for on-line registration, no paperwork necessary

Robust system for on-line registration, no paperwork necessary

Public access List of lobbyists available, but not detailed, or updated frequently

List of lobbyists available, d e t a i l e d , a n d u p d a t e d frequently

List of lobbyists and their s p e n d i n g d i s c l o s u r e s available, detailed, and updated frequently

Enforcement L i t t l e e n f o r c e m e n t capabilities invested in state agency

In theory state agency pos se s se s en fo rcemen t c a p a b i l i t i e s , t h o u g h infrequently used

State agency can, and does, conduct mandatory reviews /audits

Revolving door provision

No cooling off period before fo rmer l eg i s l a to r s can register as lobbyists

There is a cooling off period before former legislators can register as lobbyists

There is a cooling off period before former legislators can register as lobbyists

So lobbying will continue to exist…

And do not imagine it’s not there

Jacques Folon+ 32 475 98 21 15

[email protected]

[email protected]

@jacquesfolon

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http://www.linkedin.com/in/folon

QUESTIONS ?

Sources and references• EU commission web site http://europa.eu/index_fr.htm

• Burson marsteller http://www.burson-marsteller.com/default.aspx

• http://www.euractiv.com/fr/

• http://www.lobbying-europe.com/

• Source: Regulating Lobbying: Promoting Transparency or Straw Man, Presented by: Professor Gary Murphy, Dublin City University TCD, 12th March 2010

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Education

Basics EU lobbying