Due to the efforts of civil society and the near unanimous support of both houses of the country's parliament, Chile has become the first country in Latin America with legislation on lobbying disclosure.
Continue readingIn U.K. and EU, lobbying reform efforts come up short
In both the U.K. and the EU, weak laws and reform efforts are failing to provide meaningful lobbying disclosure, leaving the public in the dark.
Continue readingSunlight Open Data Policy Guidelines now available in Spanish
We are excited to announce that the Open Data Policy Guidelines are now available in Spanish.
Continue readingScotland takes first steps towards lobbying transparency — with a little help from Sunlight
Last week, transparency advocates were invited to an oral evidence session in the Scottish parliament and made a strong case for lobbying disclosure.
Continue readingRomanian parliament exempts itself from anti-corruption laws
In early December, the Romanian parliament passed amendments to the country's criminal code that make certain public officials exempt from corruption charges, including bribery, conflicts of interests, and abuse of office.
Continue readingEU fails to produce clear recommendations on lobbying transparency
After months of deliberation, the EU working group responsible for fixing the EU’s somewhat dysfunctional lobbying transparency register has concluded its review process without producing clear recommendations.
Continue readingBloomberg Philanthropies throws its weight behind urban innovation
Bloomberg Philanthropies recently launched the Mayors Challenge, a contest for funding in the European Union where large cities submit new, innovative ideas for solving local problems.
Continue readingIsrael inches toward lobbying reform
Earlier this summer, a lobbying reform bill that strengthens disclosure and improves transparency was introduced to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. While the bill is not without flaws, it is an encouraging step in the right direction.
Continue readingAnnouncing Sunlight’s international lobbying disclosure guidelines
With more and more civil society organizations in the open government universe recognizing that “thorny issues” -- such as political finance transparency or surveillance -- need to be tackled somewhat more vehemently, we are eager to seize the momentum and start a hopefully constructive dialogue around an embarrassingly under- or unregulated area: lobbying disclosure. A few weeks back, with the support of our friends at the Open Knowledge Foundation, we took the first steps to create a community of interested advocates, activists and academics, and launched a public working group around the world of influence.
Today, we are excited to announce our draft lobbying disclosure guidelines and invite the community to provide input on these recommendations.
Continue readingThe EU lobbyist register needs fixing
After a summer of debate, the EU working group responsible for reviewing the joint lobbyist register of the European Commission and European Parliament is poised to make recommendations for the future of the register. Strong regulations can shed light on how lobbyists shape the policy making process in the EU. However, the register in its current form is “unsustainable, misguided and simply not credible” -- according to a detailed report by the ALTER - EU, a coalition of about 200 civil society groups, trade unions, academics and public affairs firms concerned with the increasing influence exerted by corporate lobbyists on the political agenda in Europe.
The Sunlight Foundation applauds efforts to create more transparency around lobbying in the EU and encourages everyone to sign the petition launched by the ALTER-EU coalition.
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