Lobbying register: PM hints at reform after four years of inaction

The government intends to present a broad package of reforms aimed at strengthening governance and integrity later this year, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister has told MaltaToday.  

The announcement was made in response to questions on whether the government plans to introduce a ‘transparency register’ requiring ministers to log their meetings with lobbyists. This proposal was made by the Standards Commissioner in 2020 and endorsed in separate reports issued by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2022. 

MaltaToday also asked the Prime Minister to explain why he had failed to reply to three reminders from both the previous and current Standards Commissioner urging him to act on the OECD recommendations, as confirmed on record by the current commissioner, Chief Justice Emeritus Joseph Azzopardi. 

Replying to MaltaToday, the OPM spokesperson did not specifically refer to the introduction of a transparency register but hinted that the reforms would include these recommendations. 

“Following the introduction of the Anti-SLAPP Legislation, the government is committed to presenting an additional package of reforms as part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen governance, institutional integrity, and the rule of law framework later this year,” the OPM spokesperson said. 

“These reforms will be based on recommendations from the European Commission in its Rule of Law Report, as well as frameworks based on recommendations from the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life and other bodies,” the spokesperson added.  

Standards Commissioner in the dark 

On Thursday when contacted by MaltaToday, the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life said he is yet uninformed as to when Robert Abela’s administration will enact a transparency register on meetings between ministers and lobbyists, and a more comprehensive code of ethics for Cabinet members. 

The two proposals were in fact made four years ago and endorsed by the OECD, with three reminders sent to the Prime Minister by former and current standards commissioners.  

The proposed transparency registry would oblige ministers to log any communication, including electronic communication, with lobbyists, which would be available for public scrutiny. 

When asked why the recommendations had not yet been enacted, a spokesperson for Standards Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi, replied that “it is up to the government to take action to implement these reports”, insisting that “a law to regulate lobbying should be drafted and enacted, and new codes of ethics for MPs and ministers should be introduced in the form of legal notices under the Standards in Public Life Act.” 

When asked what pressure has been exerted by the office to enact the proposed legislation, the spokesperson referred to two letters sent in July and September 2022 by former commissioner George Hyzler in which he had asked the Prime Minister to formally recommend that the government should implement the OECD proposals on lobbying and on the codes of ethics for MPs and ministers.  

In November 2023, the current Commissioner also wrote to the Prime Minister to recommend that the government should implement the OECD proposals on asset and interest declarations by MPs. The Commissioner also pointed out that his predecessor’s recommendations on regulating lobbying, remained outstanding.  

Asked about the outcome of these letters the commissioner replied that the “office has not received any response to these letters” adding that the office is “not aware of any action being taken by the government to implement the relevant reports.” 

The transparency register saga 

A transparency register was first proposed by former Standards Commissioner George Hyzler in the document 'Towards the Regulation of Lobbying in Malta’, issued in February 2020. 

The paper proposed that all individuals and bodies that carry out lobbying should be governed by a code of conduct. 

In addition, some of these individuals and bodies should be required to register in a Register of Lobbyists that would be maintained by the Commissioner for Standards. These lobbyists should submit regular returns on their activities. Furthermore, the paper proposed that ministers, parliamentary secretaries, and the heads and deputy heads of their secretariats should register all relevant communications (including meetings) in a transparency register which would be accessible to the public.  

Moreover, the commissioner also proposed that ministers, parliamentary secretaries and some other designated public officials should be barred from acting as lobbyists for a specified period after they cease to hold office. This would prevent private actors from gaining privileged access to government decision-making through senior officials who have recently left office. 

Subsequently, in July 2022 the commissioner also proposed revisions to the code of ethics for MPs and ministers, such as obliging elected officials to record all gifts, benefits and hospitality received and bestowed in an official register and to record their financial and non-financial interests in an official register. 

The revised code precluded ministers from having a profitable relationship with any entity which they had dealt with during their term of office for a period of three years after leaving office. 

It also precluded unofficial meetings like informal lunch meetings: “Meetings with persons who have an interest in obtaining permits, authorisations, concessions or other benefits from the state should be held in an official setting in the presence of officials.” 

Any official meetings were to be recorded in the transparency register with “minutes of such meetings… kept for record and audit purposes”. And, significantly, ministers would no longer be allowed to conduct official business through unofficial email accounts. 

Both reports were reviewed by the OECD in 2022 as part of an EU-funded project to evaluate Malta’s integrity framework. The OECD endorsed and further developed the Commissioner’s proposals, and issued three reports proposing a new code of ethics for MPs and ministers, a new law regulating lobbying and another report on the asset and interest declaration by MPs and ministers. 

The OECD also called for effective sanctions in case of breaches of the law including cases where meetings with lobbyists are not logged or where the information disclosed to the public is incorrect or misleading. 

The OECD’s report acknowledged that some actors will avoid identifying and reporting their actions as “lobbying”. “Thus, it is crucial that the lobbying regulation contains a separate mechanism for reporting all influence efforts, regardless of the lobbyist/non-lobbyist status of the influencer.” 

In July and September 2022, the former Commissioner for Standards wrote to the Prime Minister to formally recommend that the government implements the OECD proposals on lobbying and on the codes of ethics for MPs and ministers. 

In November 2023, the current Commissioner wrote to the Prime Minister to recommend that the government should implement the OECD proposals on asset and interest declarations. Joseph Azzopardi also pointed out that his predecessor’s recommendations remained outstanding. No reply was forthcoming to these letters. 

The political repercussions 

Ironically it was the Labour Party which, despite facing criticism of colluding with big business, went on the offensive pledging a transparency register for MPs, ministers and key public figures in its manifesto for the 2017 general election. 

The party pledged that the register would be public and used to declare any meetings that can potentially create a conflict. The party also suggested that lobby groups and NGOs should register their interest for meetings with Cabinet ministers. But the proposal was not enacted even after the political storm which led to the resignation of prime minister Joseph Muscat. 

In the wake of the political crisis ushered by the arrest of energy magnate Yorgen Fenech, the alleged mastermind in the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, a public inquiry threw the spotlight on the relationship between big business and politicians. In its final report the inquiry called for the regulation of lobbying and for all communication between politicians and business to be carried out through official channels. 

Upon his appointment in January 2020 then environment minister Aaron Farrugia anticipated his colleagues, announcing his intention to register meetings with lobbyists. But he later backtracked saying that he was waiting for the outcome of a proposal being drafted by the Standards Commissioner for a government-wide lobby register. 

The idea of a transparency register also featured in a raft of anti-corruption laws presented by the Nationalist Party in 2022 with the party also promising the introduction of a register logging meetings between ministers and lobbyists in its electoral manifesto before the 2022 general election.  

The issue of a transparency register was recast in the spotlight after it became known that the European Parliament president was exempt from new transparency rules for MEPs. Roberta Metsola’s husband (left) is a registered lobbyist for the cruise industry

The issue resurfaced again this week with former Labour MEP Cyrus Engerer calling on the Labour government to take the lead and introduce a lobby and transparency register, instead of simply taking to task European Parliament president Roberta Metsola after a Politico report revealed a transparency and ethics protocol for MEPs specifically excluded the office of the president. Metsola’s husband Ukko happens to be a director of Royal Caribbean Cruises and its lobbying arm.