INTEREST REPRESENTATION AND INTEREST REPRESENTATIVE: MULTILINGUAL DEFINITIONS

The respondents to the consultation that led to the establishment of the EU Transparency Register were critical of the negative connotation of the term “lobbying”. For this reason the European Commission adopted the terms respectively of Interest Representation and Interest Representative while pointing out that it did not mean on its part any negative value judgement about "lobbying" and that lobbying activities are imperative from a democratic point of view.

“Interest representation” activities are defined as “activities carried out with the objective of influencing the policy formulation and decision-making processes of the European institutions”.

This definition does not include:

– activities concerning legal and other professional advice, in so far as they relate to the exercise of the fundamental right to a fair trial of a client, including the right of defence in administrative proceedings, such as carried out by lawyers or by any other professionals involved therein;

– activities of the social partners as actors in the social dialogue (trade unions, employers associations). However, when these actors engage in activities falling outside the framework of the social dialogue , they are considered doing interest representation work. This also applies to associations of public authorities with a private legal status, or any mixed (private/public) structure of which public authorities are part, if they are carrying out activities falling under the definition presented above;

– activities in response to the Commission’s direct request, such as ad hoc or regular requests for factual information, data or expertise, invitations to public hearings, or participation in consultative committees or in any similar fora.

The Commission recognises that the mission of most organisations engaged in interest representation is wider than the activities for which registration is expected e.g. activities such as the production of studies, statistics and other information and documentation as well as the provision of training and capacity building for members or clients which fall outside the scope of the definition, if they are not related to activities of interest representation.

It should be pointed out that an interest group is a social group more or less organised and structured having for prime purpose to influence political decision-makers and to defend particular interests be they economics, material, financial, humantarian, or moral ; to promote an evolution of laws or political changes that are favorable to them or to keep them from taking place them if they are unfavorable to them. From our perspective, we prefer the use of the term Public Policy Advocacy.

 Interest Representation

• English: Interest representation (lobbying): all activities carried out with the objective of influencing the policy formulation and decision-making processes of the European institutions.
• Czech: Zastupování zájmových skupin (lobbování): všechny činnosti vykonávané s cílem ovlivnit formulování politiky a rozhodovací procesy orgánů EU.
• Danish: Interesserepræsentation (lobbyvirksomhed): aktiviteter der gennemføres med det formål at øve indflydelse på formuleringen af politikker og beslutningstagningen i EU’s institutioner.
• Dutch : Belangenverdediging (lobbyen): alle activiteiten die erop gericht zijn de beleidsbepaling en de besluitvorming van de Europese instellingen te beïnvloeden.
• Finnish: Edunvalvonta (lobbaus): kaikki toimenpiteet toteutetaan tavoitteena vaikuttaa EU:n toimielinten politiikan muotoiluun ja päätöksentekoprosesseihin.
• French : Représentation des intérêts (lobbying): toutes les activités qui visent à influer sur l’élaboration des politiques et les processus décisionnels des institutions européennes.
• German: Interessenvertretung (Lobbyarbeit): alle Tätigkeiten, mit denen auf die Gestaltung der Politik und die Entscheidungsprozesse der Europäischen Institutionen Einfluss genommen werden soll.
• Greek: Εκπροσώπηση των ομάδων συμφερόντων («lobbying»): όλες οι δραστηριότητες που αναπτύσσονται με στόχο να επηρεάσουν τη διαμόρφωση της πολιτικής και τη διαδικασία λήψης αποφάσεων των ευρωπαϊκών θεσμικών οργάνων.
• Hungarian: Érdekképviselet (lobbizás): mindazokra a tevékenységek, amelyeknek célja az európai intézmények politikaalkotási és döntéshozatali folyamatainak befolyásolása.
• Italian:  Rappresentanza degli interessi (lobbismo): il complesso delle attività svolte al fine di influenzare l'elaborazione delle politiche e il processo decisionale delle istituzioni europee.
• Polish: Grupy interesu (lobbing): działania mające na celu wywarcie wpływu na procesy kształtowania polityki i podejmowania decyzji przez instytucje europejskie.
• Portuguese : Grupos de interesse (lobbying): todas as actividades realizadas com o objectivo de influenciar a formulação das políticas e os processos de tomada de decisões das instituições europeias.
• Romanian : Reprezentarea intereselor (activităţi de lobby): orice activităţi menite să influenţeze elaborarea politicilor şi procesele decizionale ale instituţiilor europene.
• Spanish : Representación de intereses (lobbying): toda actividad encaminada a influir en la elaboración de las políticas y los procesos de toma de decisiones de las Instituciones Europeas.
• Swedish: Intressebevakning (lobbying): all verksamhet som avser att påverka de politiska lösningarna och EU-institutionernas beslutsprocess.

Key Words: Lobbying, Lobbování, Lobbyvirksomhed, Lobbyen, Lobbaus, Lobbying, Lobbyarbeit, Lobbying, Lobbizás, Lobbismo, Lobbing, Lobbying, Aactivităţi de Lobby, Lobbying, Lobbying.

Interest Representatives

• English : Interest representatives (lobbyists): persons carrying out lobbying and who work in organisations such as public affairs consultancies, law firms, NGOs, think-tanks or trade associations.
• Czech: Zástupci zájmových skupin (lobbisté): osoby provádějící činnosti lobbování a pracující v organizacích, jako jsou odborné poradenské společnosti, právnické firmy, nevládní organizace, expertní skupiny nebo profesní sdružení.
• Danish: Interesserepræsentanter (lobbyister): personer, der udøver sådanne aktiviteter via deres arbejde i forskellige organisationer som public affairs-rådgivningsvirksomheder, advokatfirmaer, ngo’er, tænketanke eller handelsorganisationer.
• Dutch: Belangenvertegenwoordigers (lobbyisten): personen die lobbyen en werken in organisaties als consultancybureaus inzake openbare aangelegenheden, advocatenkantoren, NGO’s, studiecentra en beroepsverenigingen.
• Finnish: Edunvalvojat (lobbaajat): edunvalvonnasta vastaavat henkilöt, joiden työnantaja on julkisia asioita ajavan konsulttitoimiston, asianajotoimiston, kansalaisjärjestön, asiantuntijaryhmän tai ammattiyhdistyksen kaltainen organisaatio.
• French : Représentants d’intérêts (lobbyistes): personnes menant des activités de lobbying et travaillant dans des organisations telles que des cabinets de consultants spécialisés, des cabinets d’avocats, des ONG, des groupes de réflexion ou des groupes professionnels.
• German : Interessenvertreter (Lobbyisten): Personen, die Lobbyarbeit betreiben und bei Sachverständigen für öffentliche Fragen, in Anwaltskanzleien, Nichtregierungsorganisationen, Denkfabriken (Think-Tanks) oder Berufsverbänden tätig sind.
• Greek : Εκπρόσωποι των ομάδων συμφερόντων («lobbyists»): τα άτομα που αναπτύσσουν τέτοιες δραστηριότητες, εργαζόμενα σε οργανισμούς, όπως γραφεία μελετών για δημόσιες υποθέσεις, δικηγορικά γραφεία, ΜΚΟ, ομάδες προβληματισμού ή επαγγελματικές ενώσεις.
• Hungarian : Érdekképviseletek (lobbisták): lobbitevékenységet végző személyek, akik szakosodott tanácsadó cégekben, jogi cégekben, NGO-kban, agytrösztökben vagy kereskedelmi szövetségekben dolgoznak.
• Italian : Rappresentanti di interessi (lobbisti): persone che svolgono attività di lobbismo e lavorano presso organizzazioni quali le società di consulenza in materia di affari pubblici, gli studi legali, le ONG, i centri di studi o le associazioni di categoria.
• Polish : Lobbyści: osoby prowadzące działania lobbingowe i pracujące w organizacjach, takich jak wyspecjalizowane firmy doradcze, kancelarie prawne, organizacje pozarządowe, ośrodki badawcze lub stowarzyszenia branżowe.
• Portugal : Membros de grupos de interesse (lobbyists): pessoas que representam grupos de interesse e trabalham em organizações como empresas especializadas em assuntos de interesse público, escritórios de advogados, ONGs, grupos de reflexão ou associações comerciais.
• Romanian : Reprezentanţi de interese (lobbyişti): persoane care desfăşoară activităţi de lobby şi care lucrează în cadrul unor organizaţii cum sunt societăţile de consultanţă specializate în afaceri publice, cabinetele de avocatură, ONG-urile, grupurile de reflecţie sau grupurile profesionale.
• Spanish : Representantes de intereses (miembros de un lobby): personas que practican el lobbying y que trabajan por cuenta de gabinetes de asesores especializados en los asuntos públicos, de bufetes de abogados, ONG, grupos de reflexión (think tanks) o agrupaciones profesionales.
• Swedish : Företrädare för intresseorganisationer (lobbyister): personer som bedriver lobbying och som arbetar för konsultföretag specialiserade på offentliga frågor, advokatbyråer, icke-statliga organisationer, tankesmedjor eller branschorganisationer.

Key words: Lobbyists, Lobbisté, Lobbyister, Lobbyisten, Lobbaajat, Lobbyistes, Lobbyisten, Lobbyists, Lobbisták, Lobbisti, Lobbyści, Lobbyists, Lobbyişti, Lobbyists, Lobbyister.