The event organized by took place at the Arciconfraternita dei Bergamaschi Open Gate Italy, the consultancy firm headed by Laura Rovizzi, with the aim of investigating, discussing and discussing the proposed law governing thelobbying activities which after three years of parliamentary process would seem to be close to filling the regulatory vacuum in Italy, one of the few countries in Europe that does not yet have a law governing the matter.
The meeting, entitled "DDL Lobbying: perspectives and critical issues", generated an open debate between professionals in the sector and a significant institutional representation. In particular, to keep track of the requests for changes to the law, which are opposed to the so-called realpolitik brought to light by the Hon. Silvia Fregolent, who at the beginning of the proceedings highlighted how a possible passage to the third reading in the Chamber would cause the approval of the law to fail.
Andrea Morbelli, partner and Head of Public Affairs of Open Gate Italia, moderated a discussion in which the Hon. Federico Mollicone of Fratelli D'Italia, Vittoria Baldino and Francesco Silvestri of the M5S, and sen. Vittorio Massimo Berutti for Coraggio Italia, in addition to the aforementioned Silvia Fregolent of Italia Viva. “We are among those who think that this law should be supported and approved – Morbelli said – but as we highlighted in the hearing, there are critical points that absolutely need to be reviewed, in particular on the transparency of the process. There is a risk of having a truncated law, difficult to implement, which does not respond to the objectives underlying the need for a law on the lobby and the needs of a constantly changing market".
Obligation to register: the exceptions
As part of the discussion in the Chamber, there was the elimination of some interest groups from the obligation to register: trade unions, the most representative trade associations, investee companies and journalists. “It is absolutely correct that anyone who is a journalist cannot join the register of interest representation – he said Fabio Bistoncini -. At the same time it must be taken into account that in many companies the communication manager of institutional relations is a journalist even if he no longer exercises the function of journalist ”. Bistoncini – founder and partner of FB e Associati -, who on the occasion presented the "Manifesto of the good lobby", and Vincenzo Manfredi a FERPI partner then enriched the debate with various ideas, above all on the opportunity to make some changes to the article of the law, unclear in some passages.
While Simone Dattoli he argued that "the exclusion of trade union organizations, entrepreneurial organizations and investee companies creates disparities between subjects operating in the same sector, implicitly produces prevailing interests over others and opens up gray and unregulated areas".
The draft law regulating the lobbying activity
Il text approved by the Chamber, and on the agenda of the Senate, provides for the establishment of a national register for the transparency of the relationship activity for the representation of interests with the Competition and Market Authority with the obligation to register for those who intend to carry out the activity among public decision makers. It also establishes who are the public decision-makers with whom the 'lobbyists' carry out their activities: parliamentarians and government members, representatives of the bodies of territorial autonomies, presidents and members of independent authorities, top bodies of state bodies, holders of top management of territorial bodies and other public bodies, responsible for the offices of direct collaboration with the institutions and bodies mentioned by the new regulations.
Transparency of the agenda of the meetings of interest representatives is also established. For each event, the following must be indicated: place, date, time and duration of the meeting; method of requesting the meeting and person who formulated the request; object of the meeting; participants in the meeting. Then a code of ethics, a specific supervisory committee at the Antitrust and a system of sanctions in the event of violations commensurate with the seriousness of the conduct.
