El Gobierno crea un registro de 'lobbies' para garantizar mayor transparencia y rendición de cuentas

Spain has established a mandatory public registry for lobbying groups, marking a significant regulatory step for the State Administration and its public sector. This initiative aims to enhance transparency, accountability, and public participation in decision-making processes by clearly defining interest groups and their interactions with public officials. The law explicitly excludes political parties, trade unions, and professional associations unless they engage in activities outside their constitutional functions, ensuring a focused scope on external influence. The registry is designed to be free, public, and interoperable with other administrations, managed by the Office of Conflicts of Interest. Mandatory inscription prevents unregistered entities from influencing public personnel, thereby mitigating conflicts of interest. Additionally, the government approved a comprehensive Integrity System that unifies ethical guidelines, risk management mechanisms, and internal reporting channels. This framework promotes a culture of integrity among all civil servants, aligning with international standards from the OECD and the Council of Europe. This development is highly relevant to open data because it mandates the publication of lobbying activities in a machine-readable, accessible format. By creating interoperable data structures, it enables civic tech and researchers to monitor influence networks effectively. The move not only supports the open government agenda but also empowers citizens to scrutinize how interest groups shape public policy, fostering a more transparent democratic ecosystem through data-driven oversight.

Source: rtve.es
Published on 2025-01-29