| Abstract | Proteklih godina javnost je na razini Europske Unije i članica, uključujući i Hrvatsku, potresao niz kontroverznih slučajeva lobiranja, sukoba interesa i korupcijskih afera koji su pridonijeli preispitivanju građana o razini transparentnosti u procesu donošenja političkih odluka. Uslijedile su rasprave o modelima regulacije lobiranja, sukoba interesa i specifičnog fenomena kružnih vrata. Različite države pokušavaju regulirati navedena područja modelima koji uključuju preventivne mehanizme prožete principima transparentnosti. S obzirom na to da se regulacija lobiranja u Hrvatskoj počela spominjati kao važan instrument antikorupcijskih politika, u kontekstu pregovora o pristupanju EU i najzahtjevnijem poglavlju 23, ovim se radom želi na primjeru prijedloga izmjena Zakona o sprječavanju sukoba interesa analizirati stavove ključnih aktera u tom procesu s ciljem dobivanja modela regulacije lobiranja i fenomena kružnih vrata koji bi mogao doprinijeti transparentnost donošenju političkih odluka i učinkovitom suzbijanju korupcije u RH. Kroz šest polustrukturiranih intervjua u lipnju 2019. godine akteri su opisali regulaciju lobiranja za koju smatraju da je prikladna situaciji u Hrvatskoj. Većina sudionika istaknula je važnost regulacije lobiranja kao važnog instrumenta antikorupcijskih politika u obliku blaže regulacije kojom se gradi viša razina profesionalizma. Njihov model uključivao bi registar lobista, snažno neovisno tijelo za nadzor, sankcije za prekršitelje, proaktivno objavljivanje sastanaka s najvišim dužnosnicima, period hlađenja i otpremnina dužnosnika te, za polovinu ispitanika, i uvođenje kodeksa ponašanja i proaktivno objavljivanje članova radnih grupa. Međutim, akteri ne vjeruju da će RH iskoristiti priliku Predsjedanja Vijećem kako bi, uvođenjem registra, pokazala da prati trendove koji se odvijaju na razini EU institucija. Unatoč neslaganjima o obliku, načinu i brzini implementacije navedenih mehanizama transparentnosti, većina aktera je navela potrebu šireg razumijevanja antikorupcijskih politika kroz uvođenje procjena rizika kroz cijelo zakonodavstvo te novih mehanizama koji bi pomogli u specifičnoj situaciji u RH.
Tijekom pisanja ovog rada stupile su na snagu izmjene Zakona o sprječavanju sukoba interesa koje nisu uvele mehanizme za koje se akteri zalažu. S obzirom na to da je područje lobiranja neregulirano u RH te nedovoljno istraženo u akademskom smislu, cilj je ovog rada bio dati mali doprinos kompleksnoj raspravi o regulacije lobiranja, fenomena kružnih vrata i sukoba interesa. Kako bi se podigla razine povjerenja građana u javne institucije i razina transparentnosti, potrebne su dodatne rasprave o ovim fenomenima uključujući nove mehanizme koji su iznijeli akteri ove studije poput registra poslovnih odnosa, nemonetarnih načina sankcioniranja osoba koje su počinile sukob interesa, uspostavljanje centra dijeljenih usluga koji bi umanjio razinu moguće korupcije i mnogih drugih. |
| Abstract (english) | In recent years, the public at the level of the European Union and its member states, including Croatia, have been shaken by a series of controversial cases of lobbying, conflicts of interest and corruption scandals that have contributed to citizens' scrutiny of the level of transparency in political decision-making. Discussions followed on lobbying regulation models, conflicts of interest, and the specific phenomenon of revolving door. Different countries are trying to regulate these areas with models that include preventive mechanisms imbued with the principles of transparency. Considering that lobbying regulation in Croatia has started to be mentioned as an important instrument of anti-corruption policies, in the context of the EU accession negotiations and the most demanding chapter 23, this paper seeks to analyze the views of key actors on the example of amendments to the Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest with the aim of obtaining a model of regulation of lobbying and the phenomenon of the revolving door, which could contribute to transparency of political decision making and effective suppression of corruption in the Republic of Croatia.
Through six semi-structured interviews in June 2019 the actors described the regulation of lobbying that they felt was appropriate for the situation in Croatia. Most participants emphasized the importance of lobbying regulation as an important instrument of anti-corruption policies in the form of soft regulation that, over time, builds a higher level of professionalism. Their model would include a lobbyist registry, a strong independent oversight body, sanctions for offenders, disclosure of meetings with top officials, cooling-off period and severance pay for officials, and, for half of the respondents, the introduction of codes of conduct and disclosure of members of working group. However, respondents do not believe that the Republic of Croatia will use the opportunity of the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, to demonstrate, by introducing a lobbyist registry, that it is following the trends taking place at the level of the EU institutions. Despite disagreements on the form, method and speed of implementation of the mentioned transparency mechanisms, most respondents cited the need for a broader understanding of anti-corruption policies through the introduction of risk assessments throughout the legislation and new mechanisms that would help in the specific situation in the Republic of Croatia.
While writing this paper, amendments to the Law on the Prevention of Conflict of Interest came into force, which did not introduce the mechanisms that the respondents advocated. Given that the area of lobbying is unregulated in the Republic of Croatia and insufficiently researched academically, the aim of this paper was to make a small contribution to the complex debate on the regulation of lobbying, the phenomenon of revolving door and conflicts of interest. In order to raise level of citizens' confidence in public institutions and the level of transparency, further discussions are needed on these phenomena, including new mechanisms put forward by the respondents of this study such as the Business Relations Register, non-monetary means of sanctioning persons who have committed conflicts of interest, the establishment of a shared services center that would reduce the level of possible corruption and many others. |
