Before the entry into force of the Lobbying Act, a well-known Croatian lobbyist says: Our job is not corruption

In a few days, the Lobbying Act will enter into force, regulating this activity, which is often negatively perceived by the public, and on this occasion, the frist Croatian lobbying company, Vlahovic Group, commented on the following newspapers.

At the beginning of October, the Lobbying Act comes into force in Croatia, which for the first time in history will regulate relations between lobbyists and lobbied persons and regulate the market, which is worth about 145 million euros annually.

One of the biggest novelties of the Act is the introduction of a register of lobbyists, which, unlike the Brussels register, which is voluntary, will be mandatory. In addition, the register of lobbyists will be publicly available and will contain a list of professional lobbyists, as well as companies and associations that lobby for their interests, and the area of interest that the lobbyist is interested in, Vlahovic Group, the first lobbying company in Croatia, announced on the occasion of the entry into force of the new act.

We absolutely welcome the Act, and it’s no secret that I’ve been talking about the importance of lobbying regulation and the professionalization of this important profession for years.

Vlahović: We welcome the new law

Natko Vlahović, founder of Vlahovic Group, commented on what the new act brings and what consequences it will have.

“We absolutely welcome the Act, and it’s no secret that I’ve been talking about the importance of lobbying regulation and the professionalization of this important profession for years. Lobbying is not corruption, but a legal and legitimate activity that promotes and defends interests. We did this in order to demystify lobbying, make it completely transparent, and at the same time put an end to the gray zone, hunting in the dark, and practices where you lobby for someone but don’t say for whom,” says Vlahović.

In terms of the new law, lobbying, says Vlahović, is considered any written or oral communication to the lobbied person as part of a structured and organized promotion, advocacy or representation of certain interests and the transmission of information related to public decision-making in order to achieve the interests of the lobbying beneficial. According to the new law, a lobbyist is any domestic or foreign legal or physical person who is registered in the lobbyist register, which also represents the basic regulatory meaning of the new law.

“The registry of lobbyists is the most important segment of the new law, and the entire Croatian public will know at all times who the lobbyist is and with what mission it represents. According to a rough estimate, there are currently more than 200 lobbyists from various sectors operating in Croatia, but we will find out the exact number of those who want to declare themselves as lobbyists only after the Act enters into force. The conditions for enrollment are quite simple – the age of majority and confirmation that a lobbyist has not been convicted,” claims Vlahović.

“There are serious sanctions for violators”

The register of lobbyists will be under the jurisdiction of the Commission for the Resolution of Conflicts of Interest, which will impose penalties and report to lobbyists who violate the law and all those lobbyists who are not registered in the register and are lobbying.

“Sanctions exist and are very serious. A ban on lobbying can mean a key in the lock for someone, because you can no longer carry out your activity. Initiating a procedure before the Commission for a listed company with high regulation of internal processes can mean dismissal for the director who was put in such a situation, high reputational damage and a consequent decrease in the value of the company. A legal entity can be fined up to 20,000 euros if it lobbies and is not registered in the register. With the law on lobbying, Croatia joins the ranks of countries that have mandatory registration of lobbyists,” says Vlahović.

With the law on lobbying, Croatia joins the ranks of countries that have mandatory registration of lobbyists.

Before accepting contact with the lobbyist, the person being lobbied will be obliged to check whether the lobbyist is in the register. If it is determined that the lobbyist is not registered, has a ban on lobbying or has been deleted from the register and is trying to lobby or is lobbying, the person being lobbied should immediately notify the Commission. Otherwise, an administrative dispute may be initiated at the High Administrative Court based on the decisions of the Commission.

“All lobbyists, legal and natural persons, will have the obligation to submit a report on lobbying activities in the past year to the Commission once a year, because the law prescribes the content that will have to be included in the report, such as information about who the lobbyists met with, what was the agenda of the meeting and the goal of lobbying, who were the lobbied persons, what materials were provided to the lobbied person. However, it is stipulated that such information will not be publicly available. But if journalists in their investigative work ask the Commission for the Prevention of Conflicts of Interest to provide them with information on whether there have been lobbying activities in relation to a certain company or lobbied person, the Commission can decide to provide the requested information to the newsroom if it concludes that it is a so-called prevailing public interest”, says Vlahović.

The concept of lobbied person is introduced

In addition, the Act introduces the concept of a lobbied person, and it will include managing civil servants and officials of the executive and legislative authorities, including those at the local and regional levels, advisers and special advisers in ministries and heads of regional and local self-government, and certain persons in bodies with public authorities. Vlahović estimates that the Act will potentially cover up to 20,000 officials, i.e. three to four times more than are currently covered by the Act on Prevention of Conflict of Interest.

Vlahović explained how lobbying works in practice. He says he is aware that lobbying is often perceived negatively by the public – as influence peddling or bribery. However, he also claims that these are “scenarios from movies”.

“Lobbying is part of democratic trends in the West and an inseparable part of legislative and business procedures. When the law mentions communication with public authorities, we are not talking about communication in the corridor or in a cafe, but about the possibility to present the proposals and arguments of one side to the decision makers in a structured way. This is about exhaustive analyses, scientific papers, studies, expert opinions, legal interpretations that can benefit our goal, and it must not be against the public interest and the legal order. Communication with public authorities and its preparation is only a small part of our work, as we spend most of our work preparing materials and strategy, analyzing problems, communicating with a client…” Vlahović concluded.

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