Operation transparency on backroom discussions. As the parliamentary committee on the “Uber Files” opens this Thursday, named after the investigation by the World which revealed the links between Emmanuel Macron and the VTC platform when he was Minister of the Economy, a “flash mission” to the National Assembly delivered its conclusions on Wednesday on the effectiveness of the Sapin-2 law . At the same time, the President of the Senate Gérard Larcher put the lobbyist Phytéis, representing 19 pesticide manufacturers, on notice for having “failed in his duty of probity” in his contacts with the senators. A first since 2016.
Between corruption, industrial interests and contribution to the development of laws, wanting to shed light in the darkness of lobbying could be like walking on eggshells. An image that Cécile Untermaier, PS deputy co-rapporteur of the “flash mission”, wants to sweep away. “Everyone” is in favor of more transparency, she explains to 20 minutes, including “interest representatives”. “We are not hunting lobbies”, defends the elected representative of Saône-et-Loire, who defends a “means of creating trust”.
Dating under the radar
This requires improving the existing tool: a register, set up by the Sapin 2 law, in which interest representatives must register “who have contacted public decision-makers at least 10 times in the year”, recites Guillaume Courty, professor of political science at the University of Picardie-Jules Verne. But the racket is full of holes and “produces a blurry and partially truncated view” of lobbyists. “We must ensure that there is no longer a blind zone,” he advocates.
The first “major difficulty”, identified by Cécile Untermaier, is that representatives should only report when they initiate meetings, and at too low a frequency. Thus, “those who have their napkin ring with the decision-maker” go under the radar, like the bosses of Uber in Emmanuel Macron’s repertoire. To correct the situation, both the elected representative and the researcher recommend noting the meeting “regardless of the person” who initiates it. They also plead for the purpose of the meeting to be noted. The member for Saône-et-Loire thus takes the example of stakeholders on neonicotinoids. “We are not asking to say what they defended, but to point out that they were received on this text”. Because in some ministries, the identity of the representatives can quickly become opaque. “If we want to know who influenced the law on pensions, it’s almost mission impossible”, image Guillaume Courty.
“Simplify, streamline and make more efficient”
The bar of 10 meetings is also criticized. “A vagueness in the law allows a legal person to pass under this requirement if each person who represents it makes less than 10 actions”, according to Cécile Untermaier. Taking the example of a company like TotalEnergies, she believes that it is necessary “to act at group level”. Guillaume Courty also notes that “organizations are poorly referenced”, professional associations virtually increasing the share of associations. A confusion that could become dangerous, he believes.
Indeed, the register kept by the HATVP must also soon concern local authorities. And assuming that meetings are noted, regardless of who took the initiative, there would be a “problem” in confusing a “public affairs officer”, who would come to defend and propose the choice of a company (for example on garbage collection), and the “lawyer specializing in public procurement” who would provide his expertise on the contract. “Pedagogy is difficult” but is a major issue in the transformation of the tool, warns the researcher.
“Lobbying is not a bad thing in itself, on the contrary we need a point of view which enriches the reflection of the legislator”, emphasizes Cécile Untermaier. For Guillaume Courty, it is also a question of words: if people are reluctant to use the term “lobby”, they “trust representative organizations to defend their interests with public authorities”. Updating the tools available to the HATVP would thus make it possible to “simplify, streamline and make the system more efficient”, maintains the PS deputy, for whom “ethics” must become the key word.