Controversy over draft bill on lobbying activities

In late October, the government received a draft bill for regulating lobbying, but until now it has not been studied from a legal perspective. Although it is the first bill of its kind in Europe, it has already become controversial. "The proposed legislation is a very important. It regulates the contacts and relations between lobbyists, public bodies and civil servants," said government spokesman Marcin Kaszuba. The draft bill envisages the creation of a register of all organizations that are engaged in lobbying activities and have successfully passed legal analysis. If a lobbying company is not on the register, it will face a fine of between zł. 3,000 - zł. 25,000. The draft also forces all government bodies to register all meetings with lobbying organizations. This information will be reported to the Bulletin of Public Information once a month. (Parkiet, p. 1) A.K.