Legislation, regulation, lobbying, policy-making and corporations — some basic words of an MEP’s (Member of the European Parliament) dictionary that hardly make sense outside of Brussels. Lobbying is that dirty word that has something to do with politics and corporations, but does it mean anything? Here are the basics of the lobby industry that can help clear the picture.
What is lobbying and how does it work?
The term “lobbying” comes from the informal conversations that law-makers have in the lobbies outside the conference rooms before or after an important meeting. Whenever MEPs propose and formulate new laws or update old ones, they weigh the interests of all stakeholders. Lobbying means any form of consultation or advice given to the law-makers, so that social and economic factors are included in the policy making.
Lobbyists present research or proposal papers that could help Parliament members to create win-win solutions for all stakeholders and the European Union.
They are the representatives of different corporations, NGOs, social groups, associations and are aware of the law-making processes. They are the middle man between an organization and the EU legislators. Lobbyists can either be employees of the organization, or part of a lobbying organization, that serves the interests of multiple corporations in an industry.
What are the benefits?
If it wasn’t for lobbying, much of the research considering legislation would have to come from taxpayers’ pockets, which sometimes means no research would be done at all. Sparking public involvement about topics like public health, taxation procedures, privacy protection is another asset of the lobbyism.
Through lobbying, individuals from specific sectors who don’t have the access or the opportunity to participate in parliament decisions, can bring their ideas one step closer to the law creation. What is more, corporations tend to act as corporate alliances, in order to further legislation changes that are beneficial of the whole industry, and not favorable for one particular company.
What are the setbacks?
If lobbyists take their corporate interests too far, however, they might present biased research reports and try to sway legislation away from the public interest. Because corporations protect their public status, lobbyists could hide the company they are working for and compromise the democratic processes of the law-making.
When in 2015 the European Parliament voted against roaming fees for inter-European phone calls, numerous telecommunication lobbyists tried fiercely to stop the law’s implementation, since it would significantly decrease their companies’ income. Yet, the law was in favor of the public interest and their position was rejected.
EU regulation
In order to avoid such conflict of interests, the EU has created some mechanisms that set limits for the lobbying influencers. The joint efforts of the EU Parliament and the EU Commission created the Transparency register, a public database, where citizens can find information about lobbying companies, their key interests and their current representatives in Brussels.
On the side of lobbying recipients, in 2012 the European Parliament established the Code of Conduct for MEPs, where communication standards between decision-makers and lobbyists are explicitly stated, including gift and benefits receiving, as well as honesty, integrity and accountability principles.
Legislation is created for and by EU citizens, and it is only in our favor to know how legislation works. Lobbying is one of the hidden mechanisms that can help us see the bigger picture of law creations.
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