The Technicians of Treasury have welcomed the new state regulation of lobbies or interest groups, that is, companies, associations, NGOs, platforms or even people who try to legitimately influence the decisions of the Administration. On 25 August, the government approved a Royal Decree-Law that creates for the first time a mandatory state register of these groups, so that it can be known who is trying to influence a public decision, on what matter and on behalf of what interests. The regulation is published on August 26 in the BOE and comes into force on August 27.
What Gestha celebrates is that the regulation represents an important change compared to the project initially proposed in 2025. One of the aspects they consider most relevant is that the supervision of the registry and possible infringements will not depend directly on a ministry, but on the Council for Transparency and Good Governance, an independent administrative authority. For Gestha, this change brings more independence to the system and reduces the risk that it is the government itself that controls those who try to influence it.
A MANDATORY REGISTER FOR LOBBIES
In practice, lobbies will have to be registered in a public registry if they want to carry out activities of influence before the General State Administration. There they must provide information on who they are, their representatives, what activity they carry out, their sources of funding and, where appropriate, how much money they allocate to these tasks. It will also be necessary to report on people linked to the lobbyand who have held public office during the previous five years. The register will also include meetings, matters discussed and documentation related to this activity of influence.
MEETINGS WITH PUBLIC OFFICIALS MUST BE TRANSPARENT
Transparency will also affect public officials and employees. When they hold meetings or contacts with a registered interest group, they must make them public on the Transparency Portal within a period of one month. In addition, if a lobby participates in an attempt to modify or influence a law or regulation, this intervention must be recorded by means of what is called a «regulatory footprint». It is intended to be able to reconstruct who spoke to the Administration and what influence they may have had on a certain decision.
FINES OF UP TO 40,000 EUROS FOR VERY SERIOUS INFRINGEMENTS
The other big news is in the sanctions. Very serious infractions can result in fines of 5,000 to 40,000 euros, in addition to expulsion from the register and the impossibility of re-registration for between two and five years. Serious infractions will have fines of between 2,000 and 5,000 euros and may involve the temporary suspension of registration. That is why Gestha speaks of a tightening with respect to the previous proposal: the rule does not intend to prohibit companies or associations from trying to influence public policies, something it considers legitimate, but to ensure that this influence is visible, identifiable and subject to control.
