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Recommendation 1908 (2010) Final version
Lobbying in a democratic society (European code of good conduct on lobbying)
1. The Parliamentary Assembly notes
that in recent decades the activities of different interest groups
have been constantly increasing. This phenomenon is true both at
the level of the Council of Europe member states, and at the level
of the European institutions. Moreover, a strong increase and concentration
of lobbying activities in both Brussels and Strasbourg has been
observed with the unification process and European Union enlargement.
Today, it is estimated that over 15 000 special-interest groups
are active in Brussels, more than 2 600 of which have their permanent
offices there and perform lobbying activities with the European
Union institutions.
2. The Assembly is convinced that pluralism of interests is an
important feature of democracy and it is perfectly legitimate for
members of society to organise and lobby for their interests. However,
unregulated, secret lobbying as such may undermine democratic principles
and good governance. In a democracy, all interests ought to be duly
taken into account and all citizens should have equal access to
the law and decision making.
3. The Assembly notes that very few Council of Europe member
states have regulated lobbying activities in any way. Thus surveys
have shown that among 14 countries having regulated lobbying or
considered the issue within their parliaments, only four European
countries have adopted a law on this issue.
4. The Assembly is concerned by the fact that such a situation
may undermine democratic principles and good governance in those
Council of Europe member states where democratic traditions are
not deeply rooted and where the absence of effective mechanisms
of checks and balances exercised by civil society constitutes a
danger.
5. The Assembly welcomes the fact that the European Parliament
was the first European institution to regulate lobbying activities
on its own premises. A lobbyists’ register has been created and
a code of ethics introduced, with which lobbyists must comply. Moreover,
the opening by the European Commission of the first register of
European lobbyists on 23 June 2008 constitutes an important step
in the sense that it allows a standardisation of these activities
at European level, reinforces the culture of dialogue and consultation, enhances
transparency, and will also in the long run improve lobbyists’ negative
public image.
6. The Assembly notes that both the United States and Canada
have taken steps to regulate lobbying activities. It considers that
the member states of the Council of Europe could draw many interesting
lessons from these two countries' lawmaking experience in this field
and the problems encountered in applying their legislation. However,
there is no single solution to all the questions raised by lobbying
activities.
7. The Assembly recalls its recommendations and resolutions on
fighting corruption (Resolution 1214 (2000)),
the financing of political parties (Recommendation 1516 (2001)), good
practice in electoral matters and concerning political parties (Resolution 1264 (2001) and Resolution 1546 (2007)),
corporate ethics in Europe (Resolution
1392 (2004)), conflict of interest (Resolution 1554 (2007)) and the
state of democracy and human rights in Europe (Resolution 1547 (2007) and Recommendation 1791 (2007)),
as well as a series of reports on member states under the Assembly
procedure for monitoring their obligations and commitments.
8. The Assembly is concerned by the fact that recent decades
have witnessed a dramatic decline in public confidence in politics
in many Council of Europe member states. The lack of transparency
in political and economic lobbying activities can be deemed to constitute
one of the causes of this phenomenon.
9. The Assembly is convinced that, in a democratic society, citizens
are entitled to know the identity of the lobbying organisations
which influence political and economic decision making and voting
by members of parliament. Therefore, greater transparency of lobbying
activities can make political and economic players even more accountable
and restore public confidence in government authorities' democratic
functioning.
10. Citizens consider access to political decision makers with
a view to providing them with information and attempting to influence
their decisions as one of their democratic rights. However, this
access or lobbying possibility must be fair and equal, transparent
and governed by democratic rules. If citizens do not believe that they
can have a real influence on political decision makers, democracy
may be undermined.
11. Taking into consideration the importance of the activities
of different interest groups in the member states of the Council
of Europe, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers
of the Council of Europe elaborate a European code of good conduct
on lobbying based on the following principles:
11.1. lobbying should be very clearly
defined, differentiating between lobbying as a professionally compensated
activity and the activities of civil society organisations, not
forgetting self-regulating entities in different economic sectors;
11.2. transparency in the field of lobbying should be enhanced;
11.3. rules applicable to politicians, civil servants, members
of pressure groups and businesses should be laid down, including
the principle of potential conflicts of interest and the period
of time after leaving office during which carrying out lobbying
activities should be banned;
11.4. entities involved in lobbying activities should be registered;
11.5. prior consultations should be held with lobbying organisations
on any draft legislation in this field;
11.6. well-defined, transparent, honest lobbying should be encouraged
so as to improve the public image of persons involved in these activities.