The Commission for the Resolution of Conflicts of Interest has refused to provide Gong with annual lobbyist activity reports for 2025, explaining that they contain information about lobbying which the Commission considers a business secret.
In its freedom of information request sent to the Commission in May, Gong asked to receive all annual lobbyist activity reports for the previous year, as well as information on proceedings or measures imposed against lobbyists who failed to submit their 2025 reports within the statutory deadline.
The Commission responded that it had conducted a proportionality and public interest test and established that the annual lobbyist activity reports contain information on business contacts, communication and lobbying activities between lobbyists and the beneficiaries of lobbying. In its decision refusing access, the Commission concluded that this information “by its nature constitutes a business or professional secret”. In the proportionality and public interest test, it concluded that the need to protect this information outweighed the public's right to know.
The Commission also stated that the Lobbying Act requires only the publication of the Register of Lobbyists and measures imposed for violations of the law. On this basis, it concluded that there was no legal basis for making annual lobbyist activity reports available to the public upon request. In doing so, however, it overlooked the fact that the Lobbying Act does not prohibit the publication of annual lobbyist activity reports, while the Act on the Right of Access to Information gives citizens the right to request access to information held by public authorities.
It is worth recalling that the Lobbying Act was adopted precisely to promote greater transparency and protect the public interest. The Commission's decision runs counter to the achievement of the law's primary objective, ensuring transparency in lobbying in decision-making processes. If the reports are kept secret, the public cannot monitor the implementation of the law, nor can journalists uncover undeclared or improper influence.
Gong considers this interpretation of the principle of transparency in lobbying, as well as the conclusion that the public may know only who is a registered lobbyist but has no right to know who lobbied whom, on what matter and in whose interest, to be highly problematic. Independent institutions should protect the public interest, not the interests of lobbyists, and this interpretation effectively renders lobbying regulation meaningless. Gong has therefore lodged an appeal with the Information Commissioner against the Commission for the Resolution of Conflicts of Interest's refusal to provide the requested information.
