The development and regulation of lobbying in the new member states of the European Union

Abstract

This paper focuses on lobbying as a political activity and the emergence of lobbying regulation in 10 new member states of the European Union (EU). The analysis begins with general observations about lobbying in post‐communist states and on the development of lobbying in three of the larger new member states: Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. Key to how lobbying will continue to develop in the future in these 10 countries is how it will be regulated and controlled. Therefore, the paper examines this in some detail. The analysis concludes with some recommendations on the role that could be played by professional bodies, which represent lobbyists in gaining more acceptance for interest groups in these new member states. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Transparency in Lobbying as Perceived by Organisational Representatives in the Czech Republic

“…To compare the results of our questionnaire with previous research, we looked at a survey of Czech politicians in 2005 (with 362 respondents) that was undertaken by the local branch of a global PR and lobbying agency (McGrath, 2008). The most important results of that survey for our purposes are that most respondents believed that the public was poorly informed about the methods and utility of lobbying and that the public expected its politicians to reject lobbying.…”

“…Moreover, the Central and Eastern European countries (especially the Czech Republic) are still in the process of opening their government up to external influence, after the fall of communism. The current rapid growth in support for transparency and lobbying may thus be seen to be even more significant in these countries than in more developed democracies (McGrath, 2008).…”

“…Czech lobbying and politics are very tightly intertwined. Certain lobbyists have moved into government or vice versa (McGrath, 2008). Moreover, the precise lobbying techniques which are employed by various interest organizations in i.e.…”

“…On the other hand, Frye (2002) states that the state-business relationship is a mutually beneficial exchange, in which political leaders gain advantages through their dealings with businesses. Previously, small and medium businesses had little weight and were relatively powerless in negotiating their political interests (McGrath, 2008). That began to change with the development of business associations, through which they could join together to promote their legislative and regulatory interests.…”

“…It is still based on contacts within small group of people in the Czech Republic with a limited view outside the Republic. Furthermore, none of the CEE countries considers lobbying in Brussels a high priority (McGrath, 2008). Sevella (2006) states that the reason behind this is a lack of experience of the European environment and often a low awareness among CEE interest groups of the EU regulations' impact on their interests.…”