Transparency Register as a key condition for launching the lobbying market

Deferral of action

The scope of the market is outlined in the definition of lobbying provided in the Law on Lobbying. The term is quite difficult to understand: it is “an activity carried out with the aim of influencing (attempting to influence) the object of lobbying in the commercial interests of the beneficiary (for remuneration received directly or indirectly and/or with payment of actual expenses necessary for its implementation) or in the person’s own commercial interests and relating to the subject of lobbying.”

If we simplify it to its essence, lobbying is actually the exercise of influence on the authorities and their representatives for a fee in order to make decisions in the interests of third parties. Sounds like corruption, doesn’t it? But the fundamental difference is that only lobbyists will receive money for promoting the desired decisions, but not officials! To ensure this, the government sets strict rules of operation. And the Transparency Register should become a key tool for regulating the future market.

That is why, although the Law came into force on March 14, it has not been enacted. According to the Final Provisions, this should happen two months after the start of the Transparency Register operation but no later than January 1, 2025.

The Register, being an information and communication system,should ensure the collection, accumulation, protection, accounting, display, processing and provision of information on lobbying entities and their reporting. Access to such information will be public and free of charge. The legislator has designated theNational Agency on Corruption Prevention as the system’s administrator. 

However, the procedure for maintaining and accessing theTransparency Register is yet to be determined by the Cabinet ofMinisters in the Regulation on this Register.

Legislative framework

However, the basic principles of the Transparency Register are already defined in the Law on Lobbying. By regulating the functionality and procedure for maintaining and accessing theRegister, the Cabinet of Ministers will go beyond the frame work already set by the legislator in the Regulation.

Pursuant to the provisions of Article 5 of the Law, the data of theRegister will be open and publicly available, except in certain cases.

The Register will be maintained in Ukrainian and English languages using software developed in accordance with national standards, which should ensure its compatibility and interaction with other information systems and networks that constitute the state’s information resource.

All information will be posted in formats available for automated collection, processing, and downloading of information, which should make it easier to assess the performance of all entities in the future.

The information will be entered into the Register both by NACP employees as public registrars and by lobbyists themselves, who will ensure the accuracy of the data.

It is already known what kind of information will be accumulated in the Register:

• information submitted by a person when acquiring the status of a lobbying entity: data identifying an individual or legal entity, contacts, sources of funding, and the scope of lobbying (the full list is provided in Article 11 of the Law); 
• information on the fact of termination or suspension of the lobbying entity’s status;
• reporting of the lobbying entity.

The source of information in the Register is information from public registers, documents on the basis of which the information is entered, as well as other reference information obtained as a result of information exchanges.

However, the open part of the Transparency Register will not contain such restricted information as the registration number of the taxpayer’s account card, series and number of the identity document, addresses of the declared or registered place of residence, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and dates of birth of individuals. 

The NACP, for its part, will be obliged to provide open round-the-clock access to the Transparency Register on its website by allowing viewing, copying and printing of information, as well as in the form of a set of open data (electronic document) organized in a format that allows its automated processing.

The Register will also have to generate extracts in electronic form free of charge.

Delays in implementation

The NACP has already developed the relevant draft of the Regulation on the Transparency Register and published it for public discussion on April 18. The Agency promised to process the received proposals and report the results on its official website on May 8.

But for some reason, this did not happen. Instead, on that day, the officials of the NACP went to a working meeting at the American Chamber of Commerce Ukraine to discuss the prospects of opening a lobbying market in Ukraine. 

The NACP leadership assured foreign partners that it understands the importance of creating a Transparency Register and launching a lobbying market. After all, the adoption of the relevant law was an important element of the country’s European integration process. And the coordination procedures on the developed process were to last until May 13. However, to date, the results of the efforts remain unknown.

Currently, work on the development of the Transparency Register is ongoing. And international partners are involved.

Interesting is the statement made by NACP Head Viktor Pavlushchyk that the Agency’s principled position is not to use budget funds to create the Register. Therefore, the NACP is actively working on attracting international technical assistance for its creation and researching the most effective ways to build the system. 

However, according to the Law, the financial sources for creating the software and hardware of the Register and ensuring its functioning are the State Budget of Ukraine, as well as other sources not prohibited by law. 

From the principled attitude of the head of the Agency, we can assume that the state has not allocated funds for the launch of theRegister or that the amount of funds is insufficient. The NACP, as the holder and administrator of the Register, must find them on its own. At the same time, according to the law, the ownership of the software and hardware of the Register belongs to the state. That is why there may be delays in the emergence of the Register as a complete information and communication system. 

Therefore, the Verkhovna Rada may even have to postpone the launch of the lobbying market by a separate law.

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