In Romania, there are still many who appreciate the quality of a lobbying agency regarding the access it has to the deciders or the rule makers of the moment. However, the lobbying activity requires a lot of work and professional integrity. It requires legal, political, sociological and communication knowledge. In supporting a public cause, a good lobbyist must be rigorous and creative at the same time.

1. Myth 1 about lobby: lobby is made only by lobbyists

There are many theorists who distinguish between lobby and advocacy, considering lobbying pursues a private interest, while advocacy pursues a public interest. Starting from this distinction, it is considered that only large companies lobby, and everyone else advocates. If the lobbyist is a lawyer, he will be expected to provide legal services, representing the clients’ interests. But the European Commission does not make this distinction, and considers that any activity of influence of decisions is confined to „representing interests”, and those who practice it are „representatives of interest groups”.

The lobbying activity in Romania is still at the beginning but, as everywhere in the world, most of the influencing activity is carried out by professional organizations, business associations, civil society, unions, employers, corporations, lawyers and others. Of this amount, only a part (probably less than 50%) came from lobbying activities, although the professional lobbying done by specialized agencies is much more efficient than the one made by own efforts by the organizations, as it provides legal, sociological, political expertise, economic and necessary communication. To make a parallel, it is similar to court representation, where a lawyer will always represent your interests more effectively than you could yourself, as a non-professional.

2. Myth 2 about lobby: lobby is illegal

The law governing the lobbying activity in Romania is still in the parliamentary process; it has already passed by the Senate, through tacit adoption, and now it goes to the Deputy Chamber, as a decider. According to the draft of the Romanian lobby law, the lobbying activity will be defined as „any contact person organized and structured with public representatives to exert influence in the interest of a client„.

The frequent connection between lobby and influence peddling is not likely to help sort things out. There is a clear delimitation between the two activities, one legal and the other criminal. Lobby, as an evolved form of influencing decisions, represents the set of legal and legitimate actions carried out in order to influence public policies. Thus, while the lobbyist promises diligence to achieve the result, the one who deals with the influence peddling directly promises the result. 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. In Romania, the greatest amount of influence is made by non-governmental organizations, lawyers, civil society, corporations, trade unions and others.

3. Myth 3 about lobby: lobby is undemocratic or anti-democratic

There are certain rumors about the anti-democratic character of the lobby activities, with the explanation that it is acting against the will of the people, who elected their representatives. Things are exactly the opposite, as lobby is one expression of democracy.

In other countries, lobby is an important part of the decision of public authorities. In Brussels, the capital of EU, the process of consulting with economic operators and civil society is serious and goes beyond the stage of formalism that still persists with us.

The European Commission considers that: „the representation of interest groups is a legitimate part of a democratic system„. The decision-making transparency and the public debates that take place on the draft normative acts in Romania are made by the eyes of the world in most cases, organized by officials without deciding power.

There is no doubt that the Romanian society needs more transparency from all the actors who participate in the process of influencing and making the decisions that affect it.

4. Myth 4 about lobby: lobby means dinners and meetings with politicians

Until you get to meet the politicians, a lot of other essential activities take place: monitoring of draft normative acts, comparative law analysis, sociological and economic impact research, political analysis, public study, and analysis, finding allies and identifying opponents, elaboration of arguments and communication strategy. Meetings and supporting arguments are not only held in front of politicians. Experts, officials, and advisors play an extremely important role in decision making. And these meetings are only part of the communication because other channels can be identified and used (mass-media, public conferences, press releases).

Probably the biggest challenge is educating politicians, clients and public opinion in this area. We are making efforts to correct the wrong public perception of the lobby, which is seen as a PR activity by some and as a influence peddling activity by others.

5. Myth 5 about lobby: lobby cannot change much of the political decisions

This is perhaps the most common cliché: „Why bother? Don’t you see that nothing is happening anyway? And why do we do the politicians’ work?”

There are some common mistakes that non-professionals make:

• lack of monitoring: „the law was published in the Official Gazette. What can we do?” Indeed, the monitoring of draft normative acts is essential for all those who are interested in public policies;
• lack of goals: it sets out general problems and calls for their resolution by the Romanian state or the Government. For example: „We need clearer legislation„;
• lack of communication strategy: it has to communicate consistently with the people who decide or can influence the decision.

„Let’s send a press release!” – not always the use of the press is a good idea, because it puts the parties in belligerent positions from the beginning. It is preferable to build a relationship based on trust between interest groups and authorities, until they are considered partners and not opponents.

Conclusion

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 involves patience, hard work and even more expertise.

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

More than that, the professional lobby and interest groups have the obligation to always act with ethics and morals in their relations with all parties involved.

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What is lobby?

The lobby is „the action of individuals and private groups, each with varying specific interests, trying to influence decisions at the political level.” By this definition, the Commission emphasizes that the attempt to influence can be made by various means, from discussions and presentations of reports to telephone calls.

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. The term lobby should not be confused with the term corruption. In support of this statement is quoted a report of Transparency International which states: „corruption is operationally defined as the abuse of power for private gain”

How many lobbyists are in Brussels?

Brussels is not only the capital of Belgium, but also the capital of Europe. In fact, in an area of a few square kilometers, the Belgian city gathers the headquarters of the main European institutions and dozens of other EU entities. There are almost 25,000 lobbyists, who are working in Brussels; most of whom are representing the interests of corporations and their lobby groups.

How does lobbying work in practice?

Lobbyists are the indispensable bridge linking a sector of the society (industry, trade and many others) with the policy makers. The lobbyist provides technical expertise to the EU regulators in particular domains in which they may not be experts. One of the most common ways of providing such input is by drafting position and priority papers on the relevant dossiers for the represented sector.

Lobby and the European Commission

The European Commission is the main target of European lobbyists in Brussels. This is easy to understand, given the skills of the Commission to initiate and formulate proposals for amending the legislation (articles 250-252 EC), so that the lobby activities found the epicenter where the Community legislation takes the first form. However, so far, the Commission has preferred to address the issue of regulating lobbying through non-binding instruments, such as communications, white books, green books, various other information, or to include certain standards conduct in its internal regulations regarding the status of EU officials, the code of good administrative conduct or the code of conduct of the commissioners. The Commission seemed to have a justification for this. The Commission’s initiative came to fruition on June 23, 2008, when it was inaugurated the first European register of lobbyists exercising influence on the Commission. By launching this voluntary register, the Commission wanted to inform citizens about general interests or specific factors that influence the decision-making process at the level the European public institutions and about the resources mobilized for this purpose.

How does lobbying work in practice?

Lobbyists are the indispensable bridge linking a sector of the society (industry, trade and many others) with the policy makers. The lobbyist provides technical expertise to the EU regulators in particular domains in which they may not be experts. One of the most common ways of providing such input is by drafting position and priority papers on the relevant dossiers for the represented sector. 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.

Lobbying in Brussels – An overview

We have to make a distinction between lobbying by paid professionals and political activism of engaged citizens. Simply put, money matters. It offers the ability to lobby steadily over time, at all stages of the decision making process. Employing lobbyists that can follow a dossier throughout the legislative process – which can take up to five or even ten years – can be a pricey affair. The most senior ‘barons of the bubble’ have salaries even bigger than those of the European Commissioners.

Public scrutiny of lobbying

There has been some progress towards greater public scrutiny and official oversight of EU lobbying activities since a voluntary lobby register was introduced: the EU Transparency Register. Many lobbyists have signed up, providing information on how much they spend on lobbying activities, how many staff they employ, and on which policy areas they work. At the same time, genuine transparency remains a distant dream. As a voluntary tool that is not subject to thorough, systematic data checks, the register contains many incomplete and unreliable entries, reflecting how little a priority lobby transparency still is in the EU institutions. The EU institutions are due to start negotiating the creation of a new lobby register, but the prospect of a truly mandatory, legally-binding tool remains a long way off. Despite much pressure from civil society, the Commission seems content with tweaks rather than advancing the fundamental reforms needed for real transparency.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there is nothing illegal and it is not a privilege to know the decision-making process and to influence it, including by sustaining a self-interest. The current legislative framework establishes rights in this regard and establishes procedural mechanisms by which these rights are guaranteed. The major problem that society has is related to the fact that these rights are not sufficiently disseminated to the general public, not that everyone, including sometimes at the level of public authorities, be they central or local, knows them and especially respects them.

LOBBYING SERVICES?

The term „lobby„, in its political acceptance, seems to have been used for the first time in 1829, in the phrase „lobby-agent„, appointing a person who was paid for privileges and who, for this purpose, frequented the corridors from the buildings where the normative acts were issued in Albany. Later, Thurlow Weed, together with his colleagues, made it an accredited profession and substantiated the methods by establishing notoriety.

After all, lobby was initially accepted as a practice of representing a single person, natural or juridical, (19th century), evolved to try to advocate for a group interests (the first half of the sec. XX), then, it has changed itself into representing, again, fragmented and specialized interests, giving birth to a phenomenon that was called the rise of the direct participation of interest groups.

Nowadays, lobby is limited only to the activity of trying to influence only those which have powers within the legislative power, legislators and members of their teams, provided they also refer to reflect a point of view related to a certain normative act and, if the communication process is to the public, then it must be followed by a „call to action”. This urge to action is an important aspect, which makes the public debate on a question of law impossible to be considered as a lobby, as long as no such request is issued.

The difference between undue influence and advocacy

As you can see, the relationship between advocacy activity and the peddling of influence involves some major differences.

First, those involved in advocacy do not intend to obtain money or other benefits, following their approach, but implementing their strategy, motivated to rectify a factual situation, which affects a large number of people or to prevent the multiplication of identified problem cases. In the context of the undue influence, obtaining some material or other advantages of nature, is the essential characteristic, without which the crime cannot survive.

The character of the advocacy activity is, by its very nature, prone to visibility as much as possible. In this sense, the promoters of this endeavor intend, and do everything possible, as the idea or cause for which strives to reach the public attention as quickly and accurately as possible, in order to mobilize as many people as possible. Therefore, the public character of the debates and the involvement of supporters in the fields of activity as diverse as it is, are essential points in the success of the entire advocacy process. In contrast, the perpetrators of the undue influence are interested in having their facts known by a circle as small as possible.

Due to the humanitarian nature of the advocacy approach, this process is being carried out by usually in connection with the medical and social assistance fields. In general, workers in these fields (doctors, nurses, psychologists, sociologists and social workers) feel the need to intervene on behalf of the disadvantaged, who cannot fight, bearing in mind that the step they initiate will correct an existing factual situation and will help, not only those whose problems are known, but also others who are in similar situations and, what more importantly, it will change the way authorities and communities report, so that the problems that they do not appear.

In antithesis to such ideals, peddling of influence implies the satisfaction of one momentary interest, of particular eminence, regardless of the repercussions that such a fact it can have them on a social level.

Peddling of influence versus lobby

Unlike advocacy, which is a clear step delimited by the peddling of influence, the situation changes when we think about lobby. Due to the definition formulated by the Romanian legislator in the draft of the Romanian lobby law, these two can be considered concepts which are quite close, in supposed to be taken actions and in meaning. Such a situation is generated, first of all, by the phrase „claim, receiving or accepting the promise of money or other benefits, directly or indirectly, for oneself or for another” of the peddling of influence definition, which reminds some partially about the lucrative nature of the lobby. This definition, with a very broad spectrum of actions, denotes the clear intention of the issuer of the normative act, in this case the Parliament, to protect the prestige of the public institutions of any form of suspicion regarding honestly civil servants.

On the other hand, lobby has major differences from the peddling of influence because it can be firmly stated that it can only be materialized in relation to civil servants, who exercise their duties in the institutions that fall within the sphere of legislative power, but not in relation to those who operate in public institutions, which are related to the exercise by the state of executive and judicial powers. Lobbying can only be undertaken in connection with creation, modification, suspension, extension or cancellation of a normative act.

Likewise, the lobby cannot be included in the category of secret or discrete actions, as it is the case of most of the facts that can be categorized as peddling of influence. This is mainly due to one of the defining characteristics of the lobby – call to action.

Finally, the lobbyist cannot be assimilated to the crime of peddling of influence since it has neither and cannot claims that it has influence on some decision makers within the legislative power. Such a thing, at least within the Romanian legislative system, would be very difficult, because the laws are the result of the debates in a collegiate forum.

Conclusion

The undue influence appears to us as a crime on its own, with a very broad sphere of understanding of facts that presuppose the real or imaginary influence of to civil servants, so that there is no doubt about the possibility of incriminating such illegal acts. This state of affairs has its source in the criminal policy of the Romanian state, which is intended to protect, in this way, the prestige of public institutions, so that their authority within the Romanian society is one importance.

With regard to the lobby and advocacy efforts, it can be concluded that these are the ones that they must be carried out in a transparent manner, involving a large number of people, and which are distinguished by the fact that they are directed against normative acts or against modalities of implementation of public programs or policies with general validity. In other words, the initiators of such actions are focused on changes related to the regulation of certain realities, which affect a large number of people, while the peddling of influence mainly refers to the particular situations they hold, most of them times, from the sphere of executive and judicial power, and less from the legislative process.

LOBBYING SERVICES?

Lobby represents a set of influencing actions (direct or indirect, including through mass media) in order to inform, convince, fine, (promote or abrogate) the legislative initiatives and the public policies formulated or implemented by a decision-making power, to support legitimate interests. Lobbying refers to the exercise of pressure on politicians, public authorities and, more broadly, decision-makers. Lobbying is a mode of action, often unobtrusive, as opposed to mass demonstrations that mobilize a large number of people.

Examples of lobbying activities: knowledge of decision-making circuits, 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.

Lobby in the European Union versus Lobby in the US

A large number of lobbyists have been operating in Brussels for years, registering about 20,000, a number that is not reflected in the Transparency Register, where we find about 6,000 entries. The justification is somewhat at hand, the first figure reflects the number of natural persons who act as lobbyists. The justification is somewhat at hand, the first figure reflects the number of natural persons who act as lobbyists at / next to the European institutions, while the second refers to the number of lobbying organizations. Lobbying at EU level is based on an agreement between the European Parliament and the European Commission on setting up a transparency register for organizations and individuals engaged in independent activities involved in the process of developing and implementing 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 elaboration or implementation of policies or decisions by the EU institutions. There is a Transparency Register, and the registration in this is done on a voluntarily, online and includes identification data and persons involved in the lobbying activity. The Register provides rules governing the conduct of the Lobbyists, the categories of persons/organizations that can register, the mechanism for resolving complaints and measures applicable in the case of non-compliance with the code of conduct. In the EU, relations between lobbyists and decision-makers are built over time and based on a level of trust, while in the US the relationship is based on an „adverse culture”. If in the United States of America the defensive lobby is met as a tactic, the idea of stopping or annihilating a legislative activity is not found in the European Union’s lobby culture.

Self-regulation of lobbying activity in Romania

Lobbying and advocacy is an integral part of Romania’s democratic process and is a right guaranteed by the constitution.

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;

Code of Ethics of Lobby and Advocacy Practitioners

Those who practice lobby and advocacy must act ethically and morally in their relations with all parties involved and have a duty to contribute to the public understanding of this type of activity. The Code of Ethics of Lobby and Advocacy Practitioners provides basic guidelines and standards for the conduct of stakeholder representatives. The code is intended for all organizations that carry out lobbying and advocacy activities and who wish to be registered in the Transparency Register. They are strongly encouraged to respect the code and to always practice high ethical conduct in their efforts to influence public decisions.

LOBBYING SERVICES?

How does the public view your brand? This is an important question to ask as you build your public relations strategy. There is more to consider than just how your business will be portrayed by the media. How you communicate inside and outside of your organization, events you plan, your involvement in the community, and even how you handle a crisis make up your public relations strategy.

To help you create this strategy, we have outlined each piece and why it matters to your brand’s image:

1. Corporate Communications

How your business communicates with other businesses, both internally and externally, creates its voice. A corporate communications strategy is the backbone of your overall public relations strategy. It uses your brand’s voice to express important messages in a way that your audience will understand. For example, internal emails or press releases announcing important company news are part of your corporate communications strategy.

2. Media Relations

Media relations is the relationship an organization has with the press. In order to be successful, you must build a relationship with the correct contact person for each relevant news outlet to ensure that your business is portrayed well in the media. Whenever something newsworthy happens at your organization, you can send press releases to these contacts. Press releases are news sources which make media relations a symbiotic relationship between the press and businesses. To help you build the best possible relationship with the press, we’ve compiled some tips for creating a successful media relations strategy.

3. Community Relations

Your business is a member of your community. Community relations establishes your business’ presence and the perceptions of others. There are many ways your business can get involved in the community. At Pulse we’re involved with a variety of community programs focusing on the economic growth of our area, education, public health, and the environment. We actively sponsor, donate service, and volunteer our time.

4. Crisis Management

How you face a crisis or other unexpected situation can make or break your business. Having a crisis management plan in place allows your business to operate as normally as possible through a crisis and preserve your image. Internal and external communications are especially important during these times to keep the situation under control. Even if your situation can’t be prevented, the very least you can do is be prepared.

5. Events Management

Your business’ events are a valuable marketing tool, especially with young people who place a high value on experiences. That being said, planning an event is an equally exciting and stressful time for your business. You have to consider when and where the event will be, who will attend, and so much more. Having an events management strategy can keep all of the details of your event organized so it runs as smoothly as possible.

Public relations is made up of many working parts that build a positive image of your business in the eyes of your community. Having a strategy in place can keep these efforts organized and create the image you want for your business.

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Source: pulsemarketingagency.com

Public affairs is the communication between a company and its stakeholders. Shareholders are the most obvious examples of stakeholders, but they’re not the only ones. Your customers are stakeholders because they depend on your business to provide products and services. Vendors are stakeholders who depend on you as a customer. The local community, government and media have an interest in your business as well and are also considered stakeholders.

Public Affairs

In a broad sense, public affairs includes any communication with stakeholders. More specifically, it includes public relations with the media, lobbying with the government, or in the case of a small business, attending city and town council meetings and letting your voice be heard. Engaging with customers and participating in business organizations is part of public affairs as well. Public affairs also includes reacting to unfavorable circumstances about the business, such as product recalls or layoffs.

Strategy

A strategy is determining where your business is now, where you want it to be in coming months and years, and what methods you’ll use to get to where you want to be. Think of a strategy as a battle plan or a road map, or as a blueprint. The strategy shows what you’ll do. But it won’t show you how you’ll do it, the tools you’ll use, or the specific actions you’ll take.

A small business might decide to use a public relations strategy to increase its visibility to the business community and potential customers. The goal is to get press coverage and generate a Web and social media presence. Look at your resources, time, personnel and money and decide what’s reasonable. For example, in the next year the objectives could include five pieces of coverage in the local newspapers, magazines, radio and television, and recruiting a base of 5,000 followers for your company’s social media page.

Tactics

Unlike strategies, tactics are time and action oriented. They are the methods you will use to implement the strategy, when to implement it, and by whom. The tactics assign specific actions to specific people that must be accomplished by a certain deadline. For example, a public affairs tactic might involve setting up a press release distribution schedule for the next 12 months, consisting of one release per month. Another tactic is to assemble a contact list of reporters, writers and editors that cover your industry. Setting up Facebook pages, a Twitter account and Google+ pages are tactics for establishing a social media presence.

Tools

The toolbox for a public affairs strategy for improved public relations would include such tools as press releases and a media list. Press releases are short, informative stories about your company written in a news-oriented way. They might cover the release of a new product or the opening of a new store. They are then distributed to a media list is a list of newspapers, magazines, trade journals, radio and TV stations, community and business websites and influential bloggers that report on your type of industry and business.

Source: https://smallbusiness.chron.com

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