Who influenced which new law? In order to make this easier to understand in the future, the lobby register of the Bundestag is to be revised. The cabinet decided that.
The Lobby register of the Bundestag should be tightened and made more meaningful in order to make influencing legislative processes clearer. The cabinet decided on a so-called formulation aid for a draft law by the traffic light parliamentary groups in the Bundestag. They now have to take care of the implementation.
It is planned, for example, that contacts of lobbyists in ministries will have to be traceable down to the level of the consultant. It should also be entered to which legislative or ordinance project the lobby contact relates.
In addition, lobbyists should indicate in the future if they have been members of the Bundestag or members of the government in the past five years. This should make the “revolving door effect” more understandable when former officials or elected representatives switch to business.
Praise from transparency organizations
The organizations Lobby Control and Transparency Germany praised the cabinet decision as a step in the right direction. It is “an important milestone on the way to the overdue reform,” according to Lobby Control. But more far-reaching steps are needed.
From the point of view of Transparency Germany, such a step would be to delete the exceptions in the lobby register that apply to churches, trade unions and employers’ associations. These exceptions are also controversial within the coalition parties – but there are constitutional concerns about their abolition, according to the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
to influence laws more understandable become
The lobby register has been available on the Bundestag website since early 2022. It is intended to make visible who is influencing political decisions and legislation in the Bundestag and the Federal Government. Professional stakeholders must register there and, for example, provide information about their clients and subject areas as well as the personnel and financial costs of their lobbying activities. Lobbyists are obliged to adhere to a specified code of conduct – violations can result in a fine of up to 50,000 euros.
The register was decided by the old grand coalition. The parties of the traffic light coalition had agreed in their coalition agreement to revise the database. Among other things, this should make it clear from all new laws which interest groups have influenced them.