From warning to expulsion: Congress launches debate on regulating lobbyists

BarcelonaThe opacity surrounding the activity of interest groups—or lobbies—in the Congress of Deputies is about to end. Or at least, a law is now being prepared to attempt to regulate them. This Tuesday afternoon, the plenary session debated a proposal by the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) to limit their activity, requiring them to register in a public registry—as is already done in Catalonia—and to comply with the chamber's code of conduct. In the event of noncompliance and the dissemination of, for example, false information, a sanctioning regime is established that could lead to expulsion from Congress. The Spanish government's partners have already announced they will vote in favor, while the PP and Vox have accused the Socialists of promoting the initiative when they are "besieged by corruption," criticized Carmen Navarro, a member of the Popular Party (PP).

The objective, according to the proposal, is to "combat disinformation" and guarantee "greater transparency" and "oversight" of activity in the chamber with a mechanism similar to that already in place in Parliament and the Catalan government. ERC, Junts, and the BNG have expressed their support for the text and have even demanded that it go further, calling for "greater rigor" and for sanctioning procedures to be technical in nature to avoid politicization, in addition to calling for an end to "revolving doors." The PNB and Bildu, for their part, have criticized the establishment of the same registration obligations for large corporations and small entities such as neighborhood associations, but have also expressed their support for the regulation. And from Sumar, MP Francisco Sierra has pointed to the PP for using the slogan "Mafia or democracy" and then not supporting initiatives in favor of transparency.

But, beyond the political debate, what does the text presented by the Socialists propose? We break it down below:

What is a stakeholder group?

An interest group is defined as individuals and legal entities, as well as groups without legal personality, that establish direct or indirect communication with members or public employees of the Congress of Deputies or parliamentary groups for the purpose of influencing parliamentary activity. Beyond this definition, the text only prohibits participation by those who have been members of the Spanish Government or the Cortes Generales in the last two years, as well as individuals disqualified from holding public office.

How will the count be carried out?

Lobbyists will have to register with the Conflicts of Interest Office, which may deny registration if it believes the applicant is violating regulations such as the code of conduct.

What should be the relationship between lobbyists and parliamentary groups?

Everything must be public—including the people meeting, the reason for the meeting, and the documents shared—and will be published on the Congress website. Parliamentary groups must also report any initiatives they present that are proposed by an interest group.

What will be considered a violation?

There will be three types of violations. Unintentionally spreading false information will be considered a minor violation. Repeatedly doing so or seriously damaging the functioning of the chamber, or knowingly spreading falsehoods, obtaining information through false pretenses, or taking advantage of a conflict of interest of a congressional employee will be considered a serious violation. In more serious cases, such as disseminating confidential information or maintaining contacts without being registered with the lobbyist registry, the violation will be considered very serious.

What penalties will there be?

Depending on the severity of the violation, sanctions can range from a warning to indefinite suspension of registration, which will prevent the lobby from continuing to contact groups and members of Congress and from carrying out its lobbying work.