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March 2017 Report (PDF, 163KB)
This report surveys laws governing registration of lobbyists in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
France
Current French law does not require lobbyists to register, but France recently enacted a law requiring registration that will go into effect on July 1, 2017. It will require lobbyists to provide information that will become publicly available, including the identity of organizations with interests related to the registrant’s representation.
Germany
Germany does not have a mandatory register for lobbyists at the federal level, although it does have a voluntary register. (One state, Saxony-Anhalt, has a mandatory register for lobbyists at the state parliament.) There have been initiatives supporting a mandatory register at the federal level, and the Social Democratic Party has submitted draft legislation to establish one.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom enacted a lobbying registration law in 2014 that requires lobbyists whose annual lobbying business reaches a certain threshold to disclose specified information. The information provided is made available in a public register. Among the information that must be disclosed is the identity of lobbyists’ clients.
Last Updated: 04/05/2017
