The new Lobbaus Läpinäkyväksi (Transparent Lobbying) initiative aims to increase the transparency of MP’s actions by changing the Rules of Procedure of Parliament. The citizen initiative would create common rules for the publication of the MP’s stakeholder meetings, but also protect the privacy of the citizens.
The lobbying register would communicate the MP’s appointed meetings and information about them, such as the names of the participants, the background communities and the commissioners. Also, the material related to the meeting could be public information. In addition to this, some already existing registers and other parliamentary documents would be published as open data, which could make research and applications more accessible.
‘’Democratic decision-making involves the competition of different perspectives in the marketplace of ideas. The open market is the most effective. That is why Manifesto is supports actions that enhance transparency,’’ says Ilari Marzano, Manifesto’s Director of Public Affairs.
The citizen initiative is underpinned by the non-governmental organizations Open Knowledge Finland, Avoin ministeriö (Open Ministry) and Transparency Finland. The Transparent Lobbying initiative is open for support until 12 April 2018.