Lobbying

History

The origin of the English word Lobby means hall or corridor literally. The English dictionary Webster recalls that this word indicates also the enclosure in a field where the animals before being are gathered sent to the slaughter-house. The first uses known as political of this term date from the 19th century. As of 1830, the term lobby indicated the corridors of the British House of Commons where the members of lobbies could come to discuss with the “MPs” (Members off Parliament). In the same way, at the time of the American Civil War, the general Grant, after the fire of the White House, had settled in a small hotel whose ground floor (lobby) was invaded by lobbys. Today still, at the White House, this part is accessible to such groups. The word lobby thus indicates at the same time the place where are expressed the lobbys and these groups themselves. These groups often intervene in spaces closely related to the media in order to influence the journalists, in the mediums of research in order to influence the researchers (see further) and with the public authorities in order to make there hear their claims or to influence them by various means ( the industry of the lie: lobbying, communication , John Stauber, Sheldon Rampton and Roger Lenglet, editions Agonic line). Their activity thus consists in influencing these public authorities in the direction of their interests. This activity is called lobbying , by prolongation of the Anglicism lobby , or lobbyism in a French way.

In France, this term has a primarily pejorative connotation, indicating the practice of the groups known as of pressure. This pejorative connotation was especially reinforced during the Années 1980 and 1990 with the bursting of medical crises (Amiante, Sang contaminated, animal Farines, ethers of glycol…) where the role of certain industrial lobbies or supporters of corporatism minimizing the risks thanks to the action of cabinets of lobbying was denounced by scientific researchers (in particular the toxicologists Henri Pèzerat and André Cicolella) and associations of victims. In fact, the strategies of lobbying implemented by the industrialists can go as far as misleading the medical system of prevention in order to maintain the trade of products which have a particularly noxious impact (ref. the business of asbestos , Roger Lenglet; Of Lobbies against health (Roger Lenglet, Dr. Bernard Topuz); Asbestos: the file of the air contaminated , François Malye)).

Mechanisms of the lobbyism

direct Lobbyisme

To make lobbying directly

indirect Lobbyisme

To make lobbying via the intervention of macroeconomic instruments

Various types of " lobby"

Lobbyism and democracy

An expression of the civil society

The tradition tocquevillienne and liberal stresses the importance of the Civil society and the taking into account of its claims by the State. This tradition considers, indeed, that the State must be limited and cannot assume only the load of the Community property. A good relationship with the Civil society is, consequently, essential. From this point of view, the lobbyism is an application of this comparison between décisionnaires and civil society, as well as the intermediate bodies which are, for example, trade unions.

A threat for the democracy

The tradition rousseauist regards the lobbyism as being the expression of purely particular interests and threatening the general interest that only the State can arbitrate.

To our time, the stakes of Sustainable development and, in the companies, of Responsibility sociétale, extend considerably the possible field of the actions of lobbyism. The health questions, of environment, human rights, or the living conditions in the developing countries, for example, legitimate in a certain way the speech of the ONG which intervene today directly with the public authorities or in relation (more or less conflict) with the companies.

The lack of vigilance and competence of the services of the State S and the Territorial collectivities on these subjects and vis-a-vis the operations of lobbyism weaken the consistency check of the actions carried out by the various economic actors, and can threaten the Démocratie.

As Europe, the force of the lobbyism acts on the level of the institutions of the European Union, where are the total stakes (energy, environmental). The confusion of the responsibilities at the legal level between the State S, where is defined still today the Souveraineté, and the European Union, can lead at the risk of weakening of the Decision-making process and to a threat for the Souveraineté S of the States.

Many observers estimate today necessary to protect operation from the democracies while obtaining a legislation framing the activity with the lobbyists and imposing in particular the transparency with the operations carried out near the authorities with the political decision makers, in particular on the financial plan, together with true methods of control.

See: Hierarchy of the standards, Legal security

The question of the regulation of the lobbyism

Nevertheless, the experiment shows the need, for a Representative democracy, to control the activity of lobbyism. This regulation can be really effective only so certain legislative bases exist. Indeed, if the United States has regulations of the activity of lobbyism, those nevertheless are contradicted by the absence of rules concerning the financing of the parties. The collusion enters the financial interests of the companies, the lobbyism and the political parties prosperous on this gap in the law. The business Abramoff (2006) is one of the demonstrations.

A practice which differs depending on the States

In the United States

Strategic issues

Geopolitical
Community Interests (" raciaux" , monk, etc…)
Corporatisms of branch

To include/understand the lobbyism with the the United States, it is necessary to be replaced in the context of the foundation of the American democracy. The American Constitution was indeed inspired by the Pluralisme of his/her founding fathers James Madison, John Jay and Alexander Hamilton, which one finds the pluralist designs in the federalist , re-examined which gathered the whole of the documents and the contributions of the founding fathers in their work of development of the American Constitution. The pluralist design of the State has as a principle of establishing the bases of the government on the groups and the factions.

Today still, this influence of the groups (all confused) on the development of the public Standard, is a major fact of the American political scene. For Madison, these groups car-are controlled by the system of the checks and balances : in French contrepouvoirl' rise of such group is thus counterbalanced by the influence of another, the result of this balance allowing to reach a consensus which will approach the interest says general. In the spirit of Madison, this last is thus the product of a power struggle such as then could theorize it Robert Dahl in his work " Who governs? " (1961). One can, consequently, speech for the the United States of quasi an institutionalization of the lobbies which makes it possible to identify the various “factions precisely” intervening at the time of a debate. Various actors gather then to constitute a lobby. The lobbies use various means of pressure:

voice of the members or sympathizers at the time of the elections;

media actions;

gifts in the electoral campaigns;

intellectual contribution ( via of the Think tank S );

etc

Attempts at regulation attempt to limit the financial drifts, marked to feed a form of corruption. Currently, which poses more the problem is the diverting of the Think tank S known as of public interest, and normally devoted to the political reflection, in lobbys. In another register, the very recent Abramoff scandal has sucity the agitation with Washington and puts forward to the diary the proposals aiming at very strictly controlling the practice of the lobbyism. Jack Abramoff, safe from a statute of operations manager near the republican group with the Congress, had indeed set up a sophisticated network bribing the members of Parliament to make them adopt provisions supporting the interests of her customers in corruption. The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 has thus lays down several rules of transparency and to try to control this practice.
The number of agencies of indexed lobbyists with Washington DC more than doubled since 2000, passing from 16.342 to 34.785 in 2005. The money spent by the companies and the lobbies to defend their causes with the Congress of the United States of America and near the administration passed from 1,6 billion dollars in 2000 to 2,1 billion dollars in 2004. Certain firms increased their tariffs of 100% and engage with starting wages of 300.000 dollars per annum. Approximately half of the former elected officials leaving the Congress become lobbyists. According to the experts, three factors explain this success:

increase in the federal expenditure, last of 1.790 billion to 2.290 billion dollars between 2000 and 2004 (the objective being to obtain a share of the cake)

the tendency “pro-business” of the Republican majority to the Congress

recognition of the potential profits by the companies. Thus, Hewlett-Packard doubled practically its budget of lobbyism in 2004 (734 000 dollars) and engaged celebrates it agency Quinn Gillespie & Associates to make pass to the Congress a special legislation which enabled him to repatriate 14,5 billion dollars of profits of its subsidiary companies abroad by saving million dollars of taxes.

One of the lobbies among most famous is the National Riffle Association.

In Quebec

In Quebec, the lobbyism is defined legally as being: " all communications, oral or written, with a holder of a public office with an aim of influencing (or being able reasonably to be regarded as being likely to influence) certain decision makings ".

the Law on the transparency and ethics as regards lobbyism legitimates the practice of the lobbyism. The Québécois law frames the activities of lobbyism practiced in particular auprès:

- provincial and municipal elected officials;

- civils servant of the provincial government and municipalities;

- people named in certain organizations or public corporations (called undertaken Government in Quebec) and personnel of these organizations;

- people named in certain non-profit making companies (such as the Funds of research in health of Quebec) and personnel of these organizations.

The law on the transparency and the lobbyism subjects the lobbyists:

- with an obligation of inscription on a public register, managed by the Officer of the publicity of the personal and real rights movable which concerns the ministry for Justice;

- with the respect of a code of conduct;

- with the proscription of certain acts.

These rules tackle even the question of the lobbyists who were themselves titular of public offices.

The law also created a Police chief with the lobbyism named by the National Assembly of Quebec. It is in charge with the monitoring and the control of the activities of lobbyism. It has an at the same time normative capacity (drafting of the code of conduct) and of control (power to control and investigation (unexpected inspections,…).

In France

France is a particular case in term of “lobbying”. This practice is accompanied there by a very heavy negative connotation . As Géry Lecerf affirms it, all occurs as if the general interest were used as justificatory guarantee hiding impossible official autonomy in the arbitration between the various interests . On this subject, the Anglo-Saxon term before is very used by the media to indicate the groups which influenced in manner deliberately supporter of corporatism, even quite simply negative, such or such legal text or normalizes. Most of the time, the practice in itself of the lobbyism advances masked under the careful terms of “institutional relations”, “public affairs” or “European businesses”.

This extreme reserve for the groups will be expressed as of the premises of the Republic with the promulgations, during the Revolution, of the Décret of Allarde of the March 2nd and 17th 1791, which abolishes the corporations, then Loi the Hatter of June 14th, 1791 which prohibits then any type of association to professional vocation.

Contrary, in 1940, the Vichy government, institutes the obligatory corporations, single and subordinated to the political power. It will be appuyera in particular on the country corporation. The mode of Vichy will create also the professional orders, whose existence will be maintained thereafter. These Vichyist risks will contribute then, after the war, to reinforce the connotation negative associated with all that resembles closely or by far an attempt at aggregation of private interest through groups or factions. As of 1945, the provisional government will give into force the framework of the law 1901 authorizing associations.

The 4th Republic, in reaction, was marked by the pressure of many factions, culminating with the manifestations of the movement poujadist and home distillers defending the interests of “small” (small craftsmen and small shopkeeper).

The 5th Republic, in negative feedback, will restore an institutional distrust for the groups.

Today, one can affirm that France is one of the countries of the western world where the distrust with regard to the practice of the lobbyism is strongest. This practice is ignored public authorities, but is based on an incipient automatic regulation (ex: Charter of the AFCL) and on the dynamism of the lobbyism of Brussels.

A debate however seems to take shape, following the deposit, with the National Assembly, of the motion for a resolution n° 3399 tending to modify the Payment of the National Assembly to lay down rules of transparency relating to the lobbys. This proposal makes following Virgin jurisprudence. Indeed, during the examination of the bill on the royalties and right close in the company of information, of paid Virgin company proposed kits of remote loading to the deputies in the room of the conferences which is next to the hemicycle. This event had shocked the members of Parliament.

In the European Union

The European Union does not present today a legislation, as such, which governs the practice of the lobbyism, except for the European Parliament.

See: Lobbys accredited in the European Parliament

Strategic issues

The organization of the European Institutions is very clearly turned towards the consultation of the Civil society and the lobbys, on completely strategic subjects which determine the future of each Citoyen, and which correspond to the contemporary stakes:

Energy,
Environment,
Services,
Chemistry,
Agriculture and biotechnologies,

etc

The lobbyism strongly impacts the legislation on these subjects, via the European directives which, in legal terms, have a value more raised than the national rights.

See: Hierarchy of the standards; Subsidiarity.

Some examples:

the outline agreements of 1990 on professional training or those of 1997 on part-time work could be set up under the impulse of the Union of the confederations of the Industry and the Employers of Europe (UNICE, called BUSINESSEUROPE as of February 2007), of the European Union of the Craft industry and Small and Medium-sized companies (UEAPME), of the Center European of the State enterprise and the European Confederation of the Trade unions.
the Directive REACH is also an typical example of the influence of the environmental ONG on the implementation of a process which will lead to a complete recasting, not only of all European chemical industries (and world), but also of industries upstream and downstream.
the lobbies are omnipresent, especially in the case of the policies of integration like the Common Agricultural policy. They may find it beneficial indeed any to inform and convince the authorities of the Union because of the rule of the European law.

Lobbies and expertise

Brussels always took into account the lobbies and this recognition was being accentuated with time. Indeed, Community logic involved confrontations of interests more and more, from where a need for consensus, compromise which is done on the competitive and competing mode. The lobbies are thus there to arbitrate and inform the political decision makers. Moreover, and compared to the interests which the lobbies represent, it seems that Europe cannot impose its authority because of its lack of legitimacy: the European commission and the European Parliament thus may find it beneficial any to require their opinions of these groups to consider their reactions.

In the Decision-making process of the European Union, the European commission privileges indeed more and more the expertise which the lobbies provide, because it does not employ much. It does not support any interlocutor while playing of the multiplicity of the actors in a competition where they do not have official attribution.

The expertise is very important for Brussels. Indeed, the European system resembles a true patchwork with a very complex flow chart, extremely specialized authorities of dialog, a decisional system at several speeds reflecting a structure shared between intergouvernementality and supranationality. The civils servant are then there to collect the opinions and proposals according to the speciality of the Commission departments which are thirty five. The process of specialization tended to become more and more complex while being encouraged by the European commission: the groups divide at the same time as new files are born in order to obtain more pointed and more specific expertises. The members of the Parliament also multiplied the contacts with these lobbies. They take into account the interests for each commission and joint committee by gaining there a quality of expertise and contacts enabling him to sit its legitimacy in these fields.

The first lobbies were especially political because all was still to make on the level European Construction. They are either federalistic, or unionistic. They accept the policy of the small steps and specialize especially on the Libre-échange. The most representative group is the Committee of action for the United States of Europe rested by Jean Monnet at the origin of the revival of Messine. In 1959, after the EEC and Euratom, one counts 71 lobbys. It will create for itself on average 34 of them per annum, between 1957 and 1963. On the other hand, those are turned towards the States and the national actions because the companies are wary, at that time, of Europe. In the Years 1960, one observes a multiplication of these groups with European Federations of national associations which are created under the impulse of the European commission wishing a better coordination. This is reinforced by the Single act which equips the European commission with a true program and a calendar. The lobbyism thus is very established in Europe since a score of years.

Importance of the lobbyism: some figures

One counts approximately 3.000 lobbys, actors of the European Union.

600 relates to the areas even if they have a weak capacity because of the fact that the negotiations pass by the States.
One also counts to 500 European Federations
200 groups represent companies. The majority of the large companies have individual antennas in Brussels (EDF, Renault, Veolia Environnement, Lafarge).

15.000 lobbyists thus find themselves vis-a-vis 25.000 European civils servant.

Community associations correspond to 32% of the lobbies, the offices of council 17%.

The lawyers, areas, international organizations are also represented… These lobbies thus announces sectoral or interprofessional particularistic interest like public interest by integrating the Civil society.

Operation

Can one qualify the Commission and the lobbies of government of experts? The Summit of Birmingham of 1992 announced that the dialog between the Commission and the lobbys was to be structured. There is thus always refusal to record these various groups but one set up four principles: opened relations, institution of confederations making it possible to define an shared interest, approaches harmonized with other European institutions and simplified consultation procedure.

One also observed the installation of a self-regulation of the lobbies as well as a code of conduct for the civils servant. It should be noted that only 6% of the legislative proposals come truly from the Commission and the Lobbies. Their intervention in the development process of the Directive S is thus rather restricted the more so as the time of intervention for the lobbyist is very short. Their true capacity rests in fact on their quality of expertise since their intervention is done on the mode of the consultation and the comitology which corresponds at committees having for goal to express waitings and the concerns on subjects such as health, science, the CAP, the trade… One can note in this respect that the Commission completely sub-contracted his information. In 2000, one counted 424 committees which emitted 4679 acts of decisions, opinion and proposals on the initiatives of the Commission.

At the Parliament, one finds more political categories of lobbies and approaching general topics like consumption, the environment. The members of Parliament in particular are very contacted when they chair one of the seventeen commissions. The lobbies provide them sometimes even ready proposals for an amendment all. There still, of the efforts of transparency as well as a code for better integrating them into work were installation.

Relation with the Decision-making process

The lobbies thus have an indirect capacity of Influence by the fact that they take part in the advisory committees of the European commission, which has the Monopole of initiative on many files in (the First pillar of the European Union, that of integration. They thus take part closely in the Fonctionnement of the European commission. They employ for that of the means of communication by Internet. Research on the Web is aujoud' today treated via specific data (see Métadonnées).

Initiatives for a regulation

The European Parliament, following the example the Bundestag, has rules of procedure governing the access of the lobbyists to his enclosure. The latter are held to be registered on a public register (available on Internet) and must respect the code of conduct annexed to the payment. The European Commissioner Siim Kallas, in March 2005, proposed a European initiative aiming at reinforcing the rules of transparency to which should be subjected, according to him, the 15.000 lobbyists who seek to influence them. These proposals were specified in November 2005 and are based on four points:

to reinforce the relative information with the European recipients of financing,
to fight against the fraud,
to increase the transparency of the lobbyism,
to lay down ethical rules and of report for those which make the law (police chiefs, members of the the European Parliament and the Conseil of the European Union) and a delivers green to European commission on the transparency is in preparation for the beginning of the year 2006.

Vis-a-vis this Community initiative differently, associations of lobbyists react. The EPACA (Public European Affairs Consultancies Association) stated that she preferred the car regulation (by the means of interprofessional charters) with the legislation. ALTER-EU, a coalition of ONG which makes on the contrary countryside to put an end to the " privileges supporters of corporatism and with the secrecy around the lobbying with Bruxelles" , the initiative for the transparency of the Barroso Commission supports.

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