Lobbying in Romania

Lobbying represents the work that consists of interventions designed to directly or indirectly influence the conception, implementation or interpretation of legislative measures, rules, regulations and, more generally, of all speeches or decisions of the political decedents.

States generally define lobbying as an attempt to influence government action through either written or oral communication. However, each state may have unique elements for what constitutes lobbying, exceptions to the definitions, and exceptions to those exceptions.

Different interest groups have had a profound impact on the public decisions process from the beginning of the 20th century until now. This impact can be observed on the parties that are involved, respectively lobby groups, political makers, but also at the public opinion level that can be involved and criticize the dialogue between those groups.

The lobbying activity in Romania is difficult to analyze considering the permissive legislation, which allows lobbying companies not to disclose any piece of information about the clients or the money involved in the lobbying campaigns.

Therefore, we can draw some interesting conclusions regarding Romanian lobby:

– the lobbying activity in Romania is still in an early stage

– regarding the situation of the lobbyists in Romania, they will have to find a fair and pragmatic level of transparency in the practices of lobbying, defining the typology of information that is required to be disclosed

– the inclusion of the lobby in a coherent way of recognition in order to gain a well-deserved place in the political system should be one of the priorities of the Romanian government

The lobbying activity in Romania should be clearly defined

The lobbying activity helps to maintain and improve public trust, meaning the trust in the democratic institution and the representation process of public politics.

Furthermore, the professional lobby activity and interest groups have the obligation to always act with ethics and moral in their relations with all parties involved. Currently, there is a Romanian lobbying law, but that is only a draft and the politicians offer no signs of future legislation. This draft law is considered adopted by the Senate in the initial form, under the conditions of article 75 (2) thesis III of the Constitution of Romania republished. The final version of the law will be approved by the Deputed Chamber.

As we already talked about it, the lobbying activity in Brussels, at the heart of the European Union, is a very dynamic one, recognized by the European Union officials as a necessity for the democratic process.

Examples of lobbying activities: studying the decision-making process, informing decision-makers, establishing high-level relationships, setting up networks, providing expertise, participating in study groups, organizing conferences, visits, drafting amendments to a draft law etc.

Influencing factors of lobby in Romania

An important factor that influences the quality of the lobby and also the quality of the lobbyists in Romania is the quality of the public life and the politicians. Communism, which has marked the history of the country for several decades, has left its mark on the structure of contemporary politicians and decision-making mechanisms. The lobby, which depends on the administrative-political structures and on the politicians, knows a deficit of public perception with a double causality: the lack of confidence in politicians and communist nostalgia. The transparency of the decision-making process and public debates that occur in regulatory projects in Romania aren’t always at the level wanted by the interest groups; Romania has a long way to go in the direction of opening and professionalizing the dialogue between authorities and interest groups.

In Romania, the contribution of Romanian lobbyists to the creation of public policies is hard to detect today, but the situation will change as public policies will be proposed by a plurality of voices such as NGOs, think tanks, groups and professional organizations.

The lobby is at the beginning, but the greatest amount of influence is made by non-governmental organizations, lawyers, civil society, corporations, trade unions and others.

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What is an advocate?

By definition, an advocate is a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy.

Advocacy is defined as any action that speaks in favour of, recommends, argues for a cause, supports or defends, or pleads on behalf of others.

Not all advocacy is lobbying, but all lobbying is advocacy.

If an organization wants to get more involved in advocacy, it should inform about the current policies and problems affecting the community. You can be an advocate by educating policymakers about the needs of your organization and the people you serve and developing a relationship where you act as a trusted voice on policy issues.

That is why it is important to start with the original meaning of this word: the word “advocacy” comes from the Latin ‘advocare’ and literally means ‘to call out for support’. The origins of advocacy date back to ancient Rome and Greece when well-established orators would perform as advocates or wrote orations specifically for pleading someone’s cause. Personalities such as Cicero and Caesar were among the greatest Roman lawyers and advocates.

Why does advocacy is so important?

When done effectively, advocacy influences public policy by providing a conduit for individuals and organizations to voice an opinion. These efforts can, in turn, sway public opinion, garner press coverage, and ultimately provide policymakers with an opportunity to respond to constituents’ needs.

Advocacy seeks to ensure that all people in society are able to:

• have their voice heard on issues that are important to them
• protect and promote their rights
• have their views genuinely taken into consideration when decisions are being made about their lives
• have their views take into consideration when decisions are being made about their lives, and to express their views, thoughts and concerns
  

Advocacy is a process of supporting and enabling people to:

• Express their views, thoughts and concerns
• Access information, advice and guidance
• Explore choices and options for services and care

Advocacy vs. Lobbying

Policy advocacy is the process of negotiating and mediating a dialogue through which influential networks, opinion leaders, and ultimately, decision-makers take ownership of your ideas, evidence, and proposals, and subsequently act upon them. Keep in mind that these activities cross the line into lobbying if they call for action on introduced legislation or a pending regulation.

Lobby is normally associated with the actions of interest groups. Defined as those activities that target policy-makers with a view to influencing policy outcomes and bringing them close to the interests and goals of the lobbyists, the role of lobbying and how different interest groups manage to shape public policies is a crucial issue for scholars. Given its importance in terms of who wins/loses in politics and who influences whom, lobbying has thus generated a large number of studies that have tried to assess the influence of interest groups, to gauge the evolution of the lobbying population and to evaluate their role in terms of democratic accountability and/or biases that the system might have towards certain actors. Interestingly, lobbying does not only occur on issues of domestic policy, but foreign policy is an important aspect as well.

The lobbying activity helps to maintain and improve the public trust, trust in the democratic institution and the representation process of public politics.

What is an Advocacy Campaign?

An advocacy campaign is a set of actions targeted to create support for a policy or proposal. For example, the goals of an advocacy campaign may range from drafting and passing a new or amended law against domestic violence; to reforming the judicial system; to litigating a test case using international human rights standards in domestic courts; to monitoring the implementation of international human rights standards in a local context.

In conclusion – what is advocacy and how it can help?

If we try to describe advocacy and its original meaning, we come across many different definitions that are specific to particular countries, cultures, decades and political regimes.

Advocacy is a social change process affecting attitudes, social relationships and power relations, which straightens civil society and opens up democratic spaces.

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Lobbying means any action or means of promotion carried out by a person/group of persons with the aim of influencing the activity of the legislative or executive power in a state, regardless of whether this action is done at the local or international level.

Influencing is done by communication and by informing the official bodies about the advantages and disadvantages of a certain legislative measure.

The lobbying activity in Romania

The lobbying activity in Romania has to be clearly defined, with the difference between the conduct of this professional activity and the activities of the civil society organizations. It clearly distinguishes between a legitimate action and an act of corruption: the lobby is a central and legitimate part of the democratic process within the framework of the liberal democratic systems.

A lobbying law has been a demand of the business environment in Romania for many years, but all initiatives on this topic since 2000 have either been rejected or abandoned. The definition of lobbying will have to be very finely tuned in order to not be interpreted as influence peddling.

So far there has been no deep knowledge about lobbying activities in Romania. Only a few pieces of information about the actors of this industry were presented, but they did not contain concrete mechanisms and tools, successful approaches, or about the shortcomings and errors of local lobbying efforts.

Romanian Lobbying Law

The professional lobbying is at the beginning in Romania, but, like everywhere else, the biggest volume of influencing activity is made by professional organizations, business associations, NGO, by the civil society, employers unions, corporations, think tanks, lawyers and others.

Beyond the issue of legitimacy, the industry of lobbying has generated heated debates on whether regulation is adequate or necessary in the field.

This draft law of the Romanian Lobby Law is considered adopted by the Senate in the initial form, under the conditions of article 75 (2) thesis III of the Constitution of Romania republished. This text is an unofficial translation from Romanian to English of the project of Romanian Law adopted by the Senate. The final version of the law will be approved by the Romanian Chamber of Deputies.

In conclusion

Repositioning the lobbying activity in Romania is a process that can be achieved taking into account three basic directions: lobbying, ensuring transparency in the decision-making process and in the act of governing.

The paradigm shift will have to involve both participants in the process of political persuasion: lobbyists and politicians. Lobbyists, both through professional associations and also individuals will most likely become the engine of the major changes in Romania in the next 5 to 10 years.

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The lobbying activity in Romania

Lobbying means any action or means of promotion carried out by a person / group of persons for the purpose of influencing the activity of the legislature or the executive in a State, whether that action is done at the central, international level or the local one.

To speak the truth, the Romanian lobbying activity is still at its early stages. Therefore, the general behavior of lobbying firms in Romania is reactive, to correct or improve some decisions already taken.

The lobbying activity in Romania is difficult to analyze considering the permissive legislation, which allows lobbying companies not to disclose any piece of information about the clients or the money involved in the lobbying campaigns.

The credibility and legitimacy of lobbyists will come in time only from the adoption of a code of professional ethics assumed and accepted by all categories of lobbyists in Romania.

Indeed, it is an industry at the beginning of the road, but it is an industry that will grow significantly over the next years. Assumption and transparency are the elements that will generate the paradigm shift and will save this profession from a stigma based on myths generated by ignorance and civic disinterest on the part of the masses, but also by the opaque nature of lobbying.

The lobbying activity in Romania is difficult to analyze considering the permissive legislation, which allows lobbying companies not to disclose any piece of information about the clients or the money involved in the lobbying campaigns.
The credibility and legitimacy of lobbyists will come in time only from the adoption of a code of professional ethics assumed and accepted by all categories of lobbyists in Romania.
Indeed, it is an industry at the beginning of the road, but it is an industry that will grow significantly over the next years. Assumption and transparency are the elements that will generate the paradigm shift and will save this profession from a stigma based on myths generated by ignorance and civic disinterest on the part of the masses, but also by the opaque nature of lobbying.

​The main positive aspects of lobbying are:

• improving the transparency of the decision-making act and the active participation of the civil society in the decision-making process

• increasing the quality of the decisions adopted, by providing professional information to the decision makers

• changing the mentality of approaching the relations between the issuers of legislative decisions and their addressees

• transparency on information about whether or not to support a particular issue.

Lobbying in the European Union

Lobbying at EU level is based on an agreement between the European Parliament and the European Commission on the establishment of a transparency register for organizations and self-employed people involved in the development and implementation of EU policies.

The purpose of this agreement is to allow the registration of all activities carried out in order to directly or indirectly influence the development or implementation of policies or decision-making by the EU institutions.

There is a Transparency Register, and the registration in it is done on a voluntary basis, online and includes the identification data and the people involved in the lobbying activity. The register provides rules regarding the conduct of lobbyists, the categories of persons / organizations that can register, the mechanism for resolving complaints and measures applicable in case of non-compliance with the code of conduct.

​The lobbying activity in the current Romanian political context

Romania, as a semi-parliamentary or a semi-presidential republic, has a relatively constant number of parliamentary parties. The longevity of the political structures is usually followed by the development of a lobby industry, which in Romania was not possible until recently.

Under these conditions, the inclusion of the lobby in a coherent way of recognition in order to gain a well-deserved place in the political system should be one of the priorities of the future Romanian governments, following the European tendencies.

Yes, at the moment there is a Romanian lobbying law, but that is only a draft and the politicians offer no signs of a future legiferation.

As we already talked about it, the lobbying activity in Brussels, at the heart of the European Union, is a very dynamic one, recognized by the European Union officials as a necessity for the democratic process.

In conclusion

There is no doubt that the Romanian society needs more transparency from all the actors participating at the process of influencing and decision making that affects the society. The lobbying activity in Romania should be clearly defined, with the difference between the conduct of this professional activity and the activities of the civil society organizations. It clearly distinguishes between a legitimate action and an act of corruption: the lobby is a central and legitimate part of the democratic process within the framework of the liberal democratic systems.

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How to use social media effectively when lobbying

Social media can help increase communication’s capacity and is usually used for legislation monitoring, strategy, keeping up to date with industry news, networking and coalitions building. Social media platforms and website publications can be used in online lobbying to either influence or change public opinion. And since they have increased in popularity, they can be used to reach millions of people. Let’s take a good example, such as Facebook. Nearly everyone owns an account on this platform. If used, it can result in massive political influence. Citizens are given access to information and contribute to decision making.

The political stability of a state is directly based on the stability of the public policymakers and the interactions between them and the interest groups. The lobbying activity helps to maintain and to improve the public trust, trust in the democratic institution and the representation process of public politics.

For example, through social media corrupt leaders can be identified and brought to justice. It has become a conduit for democracy in developed countries. This is a clear indication that there is a bright future for social media in online lobbying. Social media has the benefit of reaching a huge number of people and spurring them into taking positive action.

Social media as a tool for lobbying

Social media is now a major tool for carrying out all types of research and engagement for both lobbyists and policymakers. Social media is especially useful as it’s easier to be used for repeating messages (in a variety of ways) in a non-intrusive manner. It is beneficial to embrace and some of its benefits are:

– Shape online policy environment and public debate

– Raise awareness and engagement on a policy topic in a timely and interactive manner;

– Monitor positions, conversations and reputation of stakeholders

– Create credibility for your organization

– Gain instantaneous feedback

– Mobilize a larger number of people

The role of Social Media in Online Lobbying

Nowadays, social media has amassed a lot of followers of different ethnicities, age groups, and political interests. Therefore, it has become the ideal place for politicians to find their audience. When it comes to online lobbying, social media ensures direct contact between voters and politicians.

National and international matters can be discussed over the internet by politicians, and voters can be influenced to make certain decisions. Politicians also brace the digital world by putting up their adverts on social media, apart from posting adverts on different websites. In today’s politics, public opinion is highly dependent on what a politician uploads on their profiles.

If policy-makers hear the message a number of times through various different channels, then they are more likely to take note.

Social media gives feedback on the effects of online lobbying

The same tool that is used for online lobbying is also responsible for giving feedback on the effects of the campaign. Social media is used to weight the impact of online lobbying. For instance, campaigners can analyze whether a specific campaign was effective or not. They can also know if it was embraced or rejected by the public. The reason for this is, not all political lobbying campaigns are successful. Some don’t influence the decision-makers. Through feedback, campaigners can know how to tailor their messages in order to lobby online successfully.

In conclusion

Social media is increasingly becoming an important lobbying resource when integrated into a wider communications strategy.

Lobbying is a mode of action, often unobtrusive, as opposed to mass demonstrations that mobilize a large number of people. Lobbying refers to exercising of legal pressure on politicians, public authorities and, more broadly, decision-makers.

The lobbying activity helps to maintain and improve the public trust in the democratic institutions and the representation process of public politics. In the end, international lobbying never excludes diplomacy and vice versa, these are complementary layers that become intertwined, as the decision-making process becomes more complicated.

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As the world governments are speeding up their efforts to regulate the pace of the Coronavirus pandemic and stabilize the teetering economy, lobbyists divided in two: some lobbyists say that much of their attention has been focused on responding to the crisis’s immediacy, while others say they focused on giving officials the breathing space they need.
The crisis is basically forcing the lobbying industry to reflect on what really works when it comes doing business in the long term.
How are different lobbying industries around the globe cope with the lockdown situation?

Coronavirus forces Brussels lobbying to go digital

As we already talked about it in a previous post, the lobbying activity in Brussels, at the heart of the European Union, is a very dynamic one, recognized by the European Union officials as a necessity for the democratic process.
The long-term effect of the pandemic on the EU lobbying industry will largely depend on how much Brussels can legislate and regulate during a period of Europe-wide lockdowns and economic recession — and how eager and able policy-makers can continue to communicate with outside stakeholders throughout that time. For now, with formal and informal meetings on hold, influencers are practising tele-lobbying — trying to keep in touch with contacts, developing strategies and advance agendas through phone calls, video calls, webinars, emails and instant messages.

UK business lobby wants easier terms for government-backed loans

British banks have so far lent 2.8 billion pounds ($3.5 billion) to small and medium-sized businesses with a turnover of up to 45 million pounds under the government scheme, approving 16,624 loans since the scheme opened on March 23. There is a backlog of around 20,000 loan applications. The CBI said that loan procedures under 25,000 pounds should be streamlined and that loans up to 500,000 pounds would benefit from a 100 per cent guarantee as well as a 10-year repayment option.

American construction companies lobby to keep working as coronavirus spreads

The construction industry in the USA is pressing to keep up and running projects, even as some start shutting down around the world to stop the spread of Coronavirus. Industry organizations are lobbying in Washington, D.C., and state capitals to classify construction employees as vital personnel exempted from stay-at-home orders.

Oil Canadian lobby group asks for environmental laws to be suspended because of Coronavirus pandemic

A leaked letter from Canada’s largest oil and gas lobby to the country’s government has revealed more than 30 requests to suspend environmental regulations, laws and policies because of the Coronavirus pandemic. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) made the requests over 13 pages to members of prime minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, in a letter reported by Global News. The Coronavirus pandemic has shaken the Canadian and worldwide oil and gas industries as prices declined dramatically due to lower demand. A price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia has contributed to the woes of the industry and has put thousands of jobs at risk.

Conclusion

As countries across the world go into lockdown in response to Covid-19, economies are in free fall. Almost every sector is taking a hit. And almost every sector will be shaped, for years to come, by the speed, amount, and nature of public assistance it receives. To bring economies back on track, there is a limited amount of time and money, therefore not every sector will get what it wants or needs.
Lobbying is a mode of action, often unobtrusive, as opposed to mass demonstrations that mobilize large number of people. Lobbying refers to exercising of legal pressure on politicians, public authorities and, more broadly, decision-makers. The lobbying activity involves patience, hard work and expertise, especially during these challenging times.
Therefore, the decisions legislators and lobbyists will have an enormous influence on what kind of economies emerge on the other side. The lobbying activity helps to maintain and improve the public trust, trust in the democratic institution and the representation process of public politics.

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Lobby is a direct or indirect influence on the formulation and implementation of the legislation, regardless of the model used for communication; if there is outsourcing or if there are media sources involved, it’s all about the network of a member, how information is communicated and the promotional materials. In order to promote good practices in lobbying and advocacy activities and to help maintain and increase public confidence, confidence in democratic institutions and the process of public policy implementation, practitioners in lobbying and advocacy have taken important steps in self-regulation.

The self-regulation system initiated consists of:

• Code of Ethics of Lobby and Advocacy Practitioners;
• The Transparency Register of Lobby and Advocacy Activities;
• Commission for the Supervision of the Transparency Register;

The lobbying activity in Romania is difficult to analyze considering the permissive legislation, which allows lobbying companies not to disclose any piece of information about the clients or the money involved in the lobbying campaigns.

Therefore, we can draw some interesting conclusions regarding Romanian lobby:

– the lobbying activity in Romania is still in an early stage

– regarding the situation of the lobbyists in Romania, they will have to find a fair and pragmatic level of transparency in the practices of lobbying, defining the typology of information that is required to be disclosed

– the inclusion of the lobby in a coherent way of recognition in order to gain a well-deserved place in the political system should be one of the priorities of the Romanian government

We have to say it straightforward: public information about lobbying in Romania is inadequate, inaccurate and often unverifiable. The lobbying activities that reached the public agenda in Romania were often linked to the interests of powerful American corporations. It should be noted that the public agenda is usually different from the lobby agenda, as the priorities of the public are not the same as the priorities of the lobbyists.

The lobbying activity in the current Romanian political context

When talking about political context, we are not discussing the political views of a certain party or another, but about the general political context.

Romania, as a semi-parliamentary or a semi-presidential republic, has a relatively constant number of parliamentary parties. The longevity of political structures is usually followed by the development of a lobby industry, which in Romania was not possible until recently.

Under these conditions, the inclusion of the lobby in a coherent way of recognition in order to gain a well-deserved place in the political system should be one of the priorities of the future Romanian governments, following the European tendencies.

Yes, at the moment there is a Romanian lobbying law, but that is only a draft and the politicians offer no signs of a future legiferation.

As we already talked about it, the lobbying activity in Brussels, at the heart of the European Union, is a very dynamic one, recognized by the European Union officials as a necessity for the democratic process.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that the Romanian society needs more transparency from all the actors participating at the process of influencing and decision making that affects the society.  The lobbying activity in Romania should be clearly defined, with the difference between the conduct of this professional activity and the activities of the civil society organizations. It clearly distinguishes between a legitimate action and an act of corruption: the lobby is a central and legitimate part of the democratic process within the framework of the liberal democratic systems.

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Lobby transparency in Romania

Transparency in the lobbying activity is a problem of the industry on a global level, not only in Romania, being one of the topics that has direct effects on the natural development of this activity, along with other issues such as ethical standards and anti-corruption rules, the formation of lobbyists and, perhaps the most serious of the difficulties, the image of lobbying activity.

A bad image of the lobbying in a particular country affects the image of all the lobbyists and the trust of the citizens. Transparency means trust from the people that the lobbyist abide by the law – this clearly add up a good image to the whole industry.
Regarding the situation of the lobbyists in Romania, they will have to find a fair and pragmatic level of transparency in the practices of lobbying, defining the typology of information that is required to be disclosed, given the rigor imposed by the listed investors. scholarships and codes of ethics of lobbyists that oblige the confidentiality of certain business information obtained from clients.
Under these conditions, the inclusion of the lobby in a coherent way of recognition in order to gain a well-deserved place in the political system should be one of the priorities of the government, following the European tendencies. As we already talked about it in a previous post, the lobbying activity in Brussels, at the heart of the European Union, is a very dynamic one, recognized by the European Union officials as a necessity for the democratic process.

The impact of the evolution of technology on the lobbying activity

The technological process in the sphere of the Internet has radically contributed to the accessibility of politicians to the general public. The debate in our country around lobbying activities also suggests an insufficient maturity of the political class. The lobby will be professionalized only to the extent that those who practice it will understand that it is a more complex activity that involves a strategic analysis of the political system and the entire decision-making process. To be successful, lobbyists need to understand and adapt to the political system within which they perform. Basically, we are witnessing the passage from the lobby in the halls and rooms to a lobby activity in a virtual space. Influencing factors of lobby in Romania Another important factor that influences the quality of the lobby and also the quality of the lobbyists in Romania is represented by the public life and the politicians. Voters are extremely important to politicians as well as lobbyists. Lobbyists’ argumentation is often focused on the benefits of lobbying on voters, the general public. Successful lobbyists are first and foremost very good communicators, able to use their communication and analytical skills to produce credible arguments. Lobbyists need to return to the emotional billing arguments, which concern the human sensitive side. In addition to the ethical principles of the lobbyist profession that should be promoted through their own codes of ethics, corporations have their share of responsibility in creating a fair space of action for lobbyists in relation to decedents. In other words, large corporations in Romania should assume their own codes of conduct that have principles regarding relations with lobbyists or principles that relate to donations to politicians, parties, or other political organizations.

Conclusion

The lobbying activity helps to maintain and improve public trust, but also the trust in the democratic institutions and in the representation process of public politics. The lobbying activity in Romania should be clearly defined, with the difference between the conduct of this professional activity and the activities of the civil society organizations. It clearly distinguishes between a legitimate action and an act of corruption: the lobby is a central and legitimate part of the democratic process within the framework of the liberal democratic systems.

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Romania, as a semi-parliamentary or a semi-presidential republic, has a relatively constant number of parliamentary parties. The longevity of political structures is usually followed by the development of a lobby industry, which in Romania was not possible. The political stability of a state is directly based on the stability of the public policy makers and the interactions between them and the interest groups.

Lobbying in Romania

In countries like America, public policies change over time, but the changes tend to be radical. In relatively new democracies, such as in Romania, public policy changes are much easier and more frequent, with the focus being on non-essential issues, which are particularly restricted by interest groups. The incidence and typology of public policy changes in Romania can be explained by the instability and fragility of the system and the political status quo.

The professional lobbying is at the beginning in Romania, but, like everywhere else, the biggest volume of influencing activity is made by professional organizations, business associations, NGO’s, by the civil society, syndicates, employer unions, corporations, think tanks, lawyers, and others. In Romania, the law regulating lobbying in Romania was drafted. According to the legislative initiative, the lobby activity will be defined as „any contact person organized and structured with public representatives to exert influence in the interest of a client”. Still, the regulation of the lobbying activity is a visible part of Romania’s democratic process and it is a right granted by the Constitution.

Influencing factors of lobby in Romania

Another important factor that influences the quality of the lobby and also the quality of the lobbyists in Romania is the quality of the public life and the politicians. Communism, which has marked the history of the country for several decades, has left its mark on the structure of contemporary politicians and decision-making mechanisms. The lobby, which depends on the administrative-political structures and on the politicians, knows a deficit of public perception with a double causality: the lack of confidence in politicians and communist nostalgia. The transparency of the decision-making process and public debates that occur in regulatory projects in Romania aren’t always at the level wanted by the interest groups; Romania has a long way to go in the direction of opening and professionalizing the dialogue between authorities and interest groups.

Lobbying activity in Romania: What’s next?

Under these conditions, the inclusion of the lobby in a coherent way of recognition in order to gain a well-deserved place in the political system should be one of the priorities of the future Romanian governments, following the European tendencies. As we already talked about it, the lobbying activity in Brussels, at the heart of the European Union, is a very dynamic one, recognized by the European Union officials as a necessity for the democratic process.

The lobbying activity helps to maintain and improve public trust, but also the trust in the democratic institution and in the representation process of public politics. The lobbying activity should be clearly defined, with the difference between the conduct of this professional activity and the activities of the civil society organizations. It clearly distinguishes between a legitimate action and an act of corruption: the lobby is a central and legitimate part of the democratic process within the framework of the liberal democratic systems.

Conclusion

A modern state cannot ignore the contribution of lobbying practices in the democratic exercise of decision making, nor can it minimize the importance of lobbying in the development and promotion of the business sector. Therefore, it is desirable that, in the short and medium-term, the lobby will receive official attention and recognition from the governors, with the support of civil society, as a democratic way to influence legislative action that affects all citizens.

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Lobbying is the attempt to influence legislators in setting a certain policy by taking a more active and wide-ranging approach than simply submitting a proposal or a set of proposals. It generally requires the involvement of the media, politicians and key people from your organization in an integrated strategy designed to ensure a positive response to your proposal and increase the chances of achieving your objectives.
Examples of lobbying activities: studying the decision-making process, informing decision-makers, establishing high-level relationships, setting up networks, providing expertise, participating in study groups, organizing conferences, visits, drafting amendments to a draft law, etc.

Lobbying is more effective when it…

• is based on facts, draws on practical experience;
• is carefully and strategically planned;
• involves and represents the group on whose behalf it is undertaken.

In most campaigns, you ask for more than you expect to receive in the hope of receiving, at least, the minimum acceptable outcome. You should also decide on your definition of success and failure in relation to the objectives. Success may not be entirely linked to achieving the minimum acceptable result. Bear in mind that, sometimes, even in failing to achieve the minimum acceptable result, raising the profile of your organization increases your ability to lobby successfully.

How to collect information for your lobbying campaign

• Office research, where the internet is the basic tool. This monitoring method uses public information sources or, better known, open sources. Although it seems within anyone’s reach, the careful monitoring of the websites of the ministries, government agencies or the two chambers of the Parliament turns into a laborious step in the absence of a rigorous method.
• Interactions and discussions with stakeholders in institutions, commissions, agencies, working groups, consulting firms, corporations, etc.
• Informal research is usually the way to obtain the most valuable information from the so-called primary sources: politicians, officials, advisers, experts, etc. The information collected from the halls of the Parliament is often more useful than the information obtained from the websites of the two chambers.

Determine what is possible and achievable

When beginning a lobbying campaign on any issue, one must look at what is possible and achievable. Any organization starting on a lobbying campaign must be aware of its own political strength, infrastructure, priorities, and key health issues. You should also look at the current changes in different systems, such as the healthcare or the transport one, changes which you can use to support your case. The conventional monitoring modalities can be supplemented by the following techniques that are used in certain well-defined contexts or situations that do not allow information to be obtained from the classical sources:

• comparative study – analysis of a similar lobbying campaign;
• experience from previous campaigns;
• organizing structured meetings with experts (round tables, seminars);
• spreading rumors in order to find out the opinions of specialists who, in a normal communication situation, would not express their real opinion;

open relationship – the permanent chase of any information, in relation to third parties or in connection with a given topic, which will be used if a related topic will appear on the lobbyist’s agenda.

Conclusion

Lobbying to achieve the major objectives of your organization is a difficult, complex, and multifaceted set of tasks. If carried out with skill, perseverance and knowledge of the political and media systems, lobbying can help the organization to achieve their objectives and raise their profile to the extent that future lobbying efforts are even more likely to be successful.

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