In the future, it should become more transparent who influences the legislation.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The new lobby register will be introduced at the German Bundestag on January 1, 2022. In future, all lobbyists will have to register here and provide information about which MPs they will talk to when and how often about which topics. There is a transition period of two months for registration.
The lobby register was decided by the old government after years of discussion. Several scandals within its own ranks had led the Union to give up its resistance. The main focus was on parliamentarians who made money by brokering mask deals and those who were involved in the affair over influencing Azerbaijan.
The traffic light government has announced a further tightening of the lobby register law under pressure from the SPD and the Greens. “We should start the parliamentary procedure as soon as possible,” said the leader of the Greens, Britta Haßelmann.
Above all, an expansion of the interest groups that are subject to registration is planned. Afterwards, more contacts with ministries should also be recorded, starting at the level of the speaker.
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So far, the obligation to report to sub-department heads ends. The so-called “footprint” should become visible for bills from the federal government and from the Bundestag, i.e. the influence of third parties in the preparation of bills. The criminal offense of bribery and corruption of parliamentarians is also to be “made more effective”.
Party sponsorship is to be made public from a minimum limit of 7500 euros per year. Donations to parties of 35,000 euros or more should be announced immediately.
In the course of the mask affair, the Union and the SPD quickly planned stricter rules here as well. Discussions were about limiting donations per person and year to 100,000 euros and publishing them from 2000 euros. Ultimately, the Union prevented that.
The lobby control association had also criticized the fact that it was easy to circumvent even the “weak transparency regulations”. The next federal government must therefore “act quickly, also to regain lost confidence in party democracy”.
The traffic light has also promised to fight covert campaign financing by means of so-called “parallel actions”. The Bundestag administration should get more money and staff for supervision and control.
The traffic light also wants to “legally secure better” the work and financing of the political foundations of the individual parties. In contrast to the political parties, there is no law for this so far. The taxpayers’ association is calling for an end to the “backroom policy of foundation financing”.
Dispute over the Desiderius Erasmus Foundation of the AfD
Above all, it is controversial whether the AfD also receives funds for the Desiderius Erasmus Foundation, which is closely related to it. Most recently, the party foundations were funded with around 550 million euros per year.
The Federal Audit Office had also criticized that the salaries of various chairmen were clearly too high. They would be far higher than those of comparable federal officials. Specifically, managing directors or chairpersons received up to 12,000 euros per month.
The new lobby register is available at www.bundestag.de/lobbyregister be visible. It can be searched according to various criteria and also downloaded in machine-readable form.
Representatives from companies and associations now have two months to register. They must provide information about the person or organization, their activities and areas of interest, clients, and the personnel and financial effort with which they carry out the lobbying work. The only exceptions are employers’ associations, trade unions and churches.
Anyone who does not register despite the obligation to register or who makes incorrect, incomplete or not timely entries is committing an administrative offense that can be punished with a fine of up to 50,000 euros.
There are international lobby registers in many countries, but often on a voluntary basis, as is the case in the EU. Austria has introduced a mandatory register. The rules and possible sanctions are particularly strict in the USA and Canada. Canada faces up to two years in prison and a Canadian $ 200,000 fine.
More: Despite the new register, corruption watchdogs see Germany only at the beginning of effective lobby control.