Lobby Register Rotterdam: a break from the trend or a paper tiger?

Rotterdam leads the way in transparency with lobby register Rotterdam is the first Dutch municipality to take a step towards greater transparency with the introduction of a lobby register. If this experiment succeeds, the city could become a trendsetter for other municipalities. At the same time, there is a significant risk that the register will remain merely a paper reality, as has happened several times in the past.

The Netherlands lags behind many other European countries and Brussels when it comes to recording with whom administrators and top civil servants meet. Under the Rutte IV cabinet, a lobby register came close due to an initiative by Pieter Omtzigt (NSC) and Laurens Dassen (Volt) in 2022. However, despite several adopted motions, then-minister Bruins Slot (BZK) remained hesitant, and the lobby register has since disappeared from the political agenda—even now that NSC is part of the coalition.

Rotterdam as a testing ground for other municipalities

The call for transparency is not new and is a recurring issue in public administration. Discussions about a lobby register, particularly in major cities like Amsterdam and Utrecht, have occurred before without leading to mandatory registration. Rotterdam is now taking the plunge. This is a positive development: transparency about who a councilor speaks to does not mean the content of conversations is made public. The planned evaluation after two years will be crucial: if Rotterdam succeeds, other municipalities are likely to follow.

Rotterdam faces a challenge. Without active enforcement and monitoring, the register risks becoming a symbolic measure, a paper tiger, and merely a superficial attempt to make the influence on the democratic process more transparent. This has been seen before with the introduction of the lobby register in the European Union, where it was initially used too loosely. Similar issues occurred in countries like Germany, and in the Netherlands, while a register of registered lobbyists exists on paper, it is not actively maintained or used to track contacts. Moreover, despite multiple promises, Dutch ministers have failed to consistently maintain public agendas, as revealed last year by Open State Foundation research.

Maintaining the lobby register is essential, as is its purpose. In their research on a national lobby register, Leiden University scholars Bert Fraussen and Caelesta Braun developed the Legitimate Interest Representation Framework, which outlines four objectives: Level Playing Field, Responsiveness, Transparency, and Accountability. Their framework emphasizes that a lobby register should not be an end in itself and is only effective if properly enforced.

Ruud van der Velden, the Party for the Animals councilor who initiated the lobby register in Rotterdam, stated that the register should help restore trust in the government. However, this is an ambition that a register alone cannot fulfill. The responsibility for a functioning lobby register lies not only with the College of Mayor and Aldermen but also with the municipal council, which must actively monitor the register.

Rotterdam’s lobby register as a test case for the Netherlands

With the introduction of the lobby register, Rotterdam has taken on an important responsibility, not just for the city but also for the broader debate on transparency in the Netherlands. The register will be closely watched: will it be an effective tool for making lobbying more transparent, or just an administrative formality with no consequences? What impact will the lobbying clause introduced by Rotterdam have, requiring council proposals to state who provided advice to the college on each proposal?

For lobbyists, this is a significant moment. Skepticism is understandable; a register provides only limited insight into the extent of influence, and if not maintained, lobbyists will be most affected. Nevertheless, the aim to create more openness around the decision-making process is a good one—perhaps especially in local government—and the coming years will show whether this instrument was the right choice.