1. Olle Schmidt, former MEP and former Member of Swedish Riksdag served as a Member of the European Parliament for the Swedish Liberal People’s Party between and After standing standing down in 2014, Schmidt returned to the city council of Malmo. Since April 2015 the lobbying consultancy firm Hume Brophy appointed Schmidt as senior consultant on financial services clients. In Sweden, findings in a government report (SGOR) on lobbying were that: “the democratic right of members of the public to try to influence politicians would risk being undermined by any mandatory registration” - Mr Schmidt took part in the discussions on this report.
14:10 – 14:45
14:45- 15:00
Panel I - National lobbying regulation
Experience from the EU Member States with experience of the debate on national lobbying regulation Olle Schmidt, former member of the Swedish Riksdag, Dr. Dietmar Dokalik, Lead State Prosecutor, Austrian Federal Ministry of Justice, Stewart Stevenson Member of the Scottish Parliament (video link-up), moderated by Chair of the AFCO Committee Danuta Hübner (MEP).
Q&A session
Questions addressed to the moderator or panellists: MEPs, stakeholders and live tweets.

3. Freedom of the Press Act
The most recent Freedom of the Press Act was adopted in although Sweden established freedom of the press by law as early as and was first in the world to do so.
Freedom of the press means the right to disseminate information in printed form but with accountability before the law.
Another feature of the Freedom of the Press Act is citizens right to study public documents, the principle of public access to official documents.

4. The principle of public access to information
The principle of public access to information means that the public and the mass media – newspapers, radio and television – are entitled to receive information about state and municipal activities. The principle of public access to information is expressed in various ways:
everyone is entitled to read the documents of public authorities: access to official documents;
officials and others who work for the state or municipalities are entitled to say what they know to outsiders: freedom of expression for officials and others;
officials and others in the service of the state or municipalities are normally entitled to disclose information to newspapers, radio and television for publication or to personally publish information: right to communicate and publish information;

5. What is an official document?
All documents contain information of some kind: text, images or information stored in some other format, for example, on a computer.
A document is classified as official if it has been submitted to, was drawn up by or is in the keeping of a public authority.
In principle all official documents are public and must be made available to anyone wishing to read them.
Official documents may in certain cases be classified as secret if they contain information relating to the security of the realm, the personal or financial circumstances of individual citizens or crime prevention activities by public authorities.
Memoranda and draft decisions are not normally classified as official documents.

6. A Sustainable Democracy (2000)

7. Sustainable Democracy
Main Perspectives
Deliberative Democracy
Discursive Democracy
(Aristotle, Jürgen Habermas)

8. Lobbyism – Public Influence in a new context
The homogeneous Sweden has changed
A former corporatist society
Labour
Capital
Agriculture
From Corporatism to Individualism and New social movements
A plural Society

9. Lobbying – Definition
Non-Institutionalized participation in the decision making process
Direct contacts with decision makers
New Environment – but still two main actors
Trade Unions – the Employees (LO)
Business – the Employers (Business Sweden)

10. The 2014 Commission on Democracy – Participation and Equal Influence (2016)

11. The Debate 2000-2015 – Conclusions – no legislation
Corporatism – lack of Transparency and Openness, too close links to the political parties
Against a register – could be seen an official authorization of exclusive actors – undermine citizens access to influence decision makers
Priority for registered Lobby-organisations
Difficulties to create an effective legislations – grey-zones
Lobbying – space for new organisations, more open opinion-forming
The problem with Lobbying is exaggerated
Sweden is neither the US nor the EU

12. Conclusions 2016 - still no regulation
Regulating lobbyism could violate the Constitution (Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Information, Freedom of Association)
Lobbying does not pose a direct threat to democracy
Difficult to design such a legislation
Lobbying mainly targets the media, not that problematic
Lobby-organisations are acting as indirect links to the decision-makers
Free and independent media is very important for a vital democracy

13. Current Discussions in Sweden
Broad consensus among the political parties – no legislation
The Greens are proposing a compulsory register in the Riksdag
No public demand for legislation
Voluntarily Code of conduct set up by the industrial branch
Some in the media is criticising the politicians for being naive concerning the problems with lobbyism
Sweden is an under-developed country related to lobbyism – a Banana- republic concerning Lobbyism
Although the Commission on Constitutional Affairs has no initiative to prepare for legislation - Register – No Silver Bullit

14. The Anticipation of influence from different actors – MP:s views (from 0-10)
Riksdagen (Parliament) ,6
Government ,5
EU ,4
Journalists ,4
Authorities ,5
Business ,4
Bureaucracy ,4
Local, regional governments ,1
NGO:s ,8
Citizens ,5
Lobbyists ,5
MP:s themselves , (Source: Commission on Democracy, 2016)

15. Thanks!
A Memento:
”You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time”.
Abraham Lincoln, 1858