The first book on lobbying, written by Spanish lobbyists and promoted by the Foro Empresarial APRI
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The most influential international organizations recommend the national regulation of lobbies as a fundamental part of the policies of open and transparent governments that define the quality of contemporary democracies. This is where it lies the opportunity of this book, as it proposes a necessary debate in our country on this pending subject.
El lobby en España (Algón Editores) is a collective work that analyses the role of lobbies, their need, the public costs of their absence, the alternatives of their regulation or the effects when said regulation do not exist, in a serious and professional attempt to demystify one of the essential elements of any democratic process. A book that reflects on the direct relationship that exists between the democratic development and the existence of a regulated and transparent lobbying sector, pointing out the strange paradox of its consolidated tradition in many advanced democracies and in all international institutions, before an unexplainable legislative silence in Spain.
As it has been underlined by the Director of the Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales CEPC and author of the Prologue, Benigno Pendás, “in a context such as the current one, where it is posed the debate on the regulation of lobbies in our country, it is necessary to overcome the conception of lobbying as a synonym of abuse and corruption. It is a retouch that can even be carried out through publications such as El lobby en España”.
It is a book that also talks about the different models of relationship between citizens and those who represent them from the perspective of the private representation of interests. A book that emphasizes the relations between citizens and companies with the public administrations and legislative powers, with special reference to transparency, legality, the quality of information available when legislating, or corruption and the most effective mechanisms to prevent it. A book also focused on the effects of lobbying on the competitiveness and internationalization of national economies and companies, as well as the defense of their interests in the European and international institutions.
According to the Foro Empresarial APRI, which has promoted this publication, “the activity of pression groups and private mediators in the defence of private interests before legislators and public officials has always existed, but it has never been regulated or transparent in Spain, something that is essential and pressing due to the undeniable reality of 100,000 laws in force, 2,000 legislators and more than 3 million public officials that currently exist in our country“.
Authors:
This book is the result of the collaboration between the Foro Empresarial APRI the companies that are partnered with it, APRI (Asociación de Profesionales de las Relaciones Institucionales), lobbying and public affairs professionals, journalists, and personalities from the public and private sector, who have actively contributed to this project. Among others, it is worth mentioning the outgoing Vice-President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, the Third Secretary of the Bureau of the Congress of Deputies, Teresa Cunillera, and also Javier Valiente, Antoni Gutiérrez-Rubí, Pedro Michelena, Luís Izquierdo, Fernando Golmayo…