While much attention is devoted to lobbyists in terms of registration, disclosures etc., it is equally important to consider minimum standards and rules governing the relations between MPs and lobbyists. Such standards should be established that govern access, expected standards in relation of acceptance of hospitality, gifts and benefits; standards governing participation in events; rules prohibiting paid advocacy. Here below are proposed standards that should be considered:

1. Standards governing Access

Three members of Britain's upper house of parliament (the House of Lords) were suspended from their parties on Sunday after media sting operations caught them apparently offering to use their influence for perdonal gains. The trio were covertly filmed offering to ask parliamentary questions, lobby ministers and host events in the prestigious House of Lords premises in exchange for payment by what they were told were lobbyists acting for companies. Journalists posed as representatives of a fictional company involved in solar energy.

There is a need to explain how the public policy advocacy profession works to the news media, to other external audiences and to your own employees.

Public policy advocacy is an essential aspect of policy-making in any government. It works in two ways, one by giving a voice to a certain cause to influence lawmakers to form policies. Another one is informing the public or the parties of interest regarding the stand of policy makers.

Much corporate public policy advocacy has a poor reputation, particularly among non-profits that battle corporations over environmental, health, and consumer fairness legislation. At the EU level, seventy percent of the public policy advocates represent business interests and only ten percent work for social issues.

Lobbying is not a well-known activity. When individuals are confronted with lobbying they usually have a bad perception of what it is about. The critics can be so harsh that sometimes lobbyists wish they has stayed in the shadow. Lobbying has a very bad reputation and the concept is frequently associated with words such as manipulation, corruption, bribery and so on. The rare occasions the public hears about lobbying is in the media and reports are usually negative.

L'une des priorités de AALEP vise à favoriser des perceptions plus précises et mieux éclairées sur la valeur et le rôle de la représentation d'intérêts au regard des politiques publiques auprès des différentes organisations que nous servons. Le moyen que nous avons retenu pour y parvenir, c'est au travers d'une campagne professionnelle dans ce domaine sous l'intitulé : "Le Business Case pour la Représentation d'Intérêts au regard des politiques publiques™".

An important part of our mission at AALEP is to foster more accurate and better-informed perceptions of the value and role of public policy advocacy in the diverse organizations it serves. One way we are approaching this is through a professional advocacy campaign: "The Business Case for Public Policy Advocacy ™"

The goal is to drive professional recognition and growth by helping practitioners in the field educate key audiences about public policy advocacy's roles and outcomes, demonstrate its strategic value and enhance its reputation.

OpenSecrets.org, a U.S. research group has compiled data about the top U.S.  lobbying firm's revenues. Here below are the results for 2012 converted into Euros.

François Hollande ne comprend pas la mentalité allemande. C’est pourquoi il est attaqué par plusieurs partis allemands choqués par sa critique inappropriée à l’encontre de la Commission européenne. La façon de penser allemande est guidée par trois principes fondamentaux :

1. Chacun doit respecter ses engagements
2. Chacun doit mettre ses budgets en ordre
3. Chacun doit être économiquement compétitif

Pour les Allemands

At the outset it should be pointed out that law firms have two ways to operate in the public policy advocacy sector. Some have chosen to integrate their government relations services into their law practice, while others have established subsidiaries that operate in the government affairs space. The reasons law firms set up subsidiaries was due to the growing importance of government activity that created potential conflicts with their existing clients. Subsidiaries were formed so that law firms didn’t have to run the traditional conflicts check.