Transparency Register in SuomiAreena – frequently asked questions

There were a number of questions to which visitors were particularly eager to get answers, and the four most common of them plus the answers are listed below.

What is small-scale lobbying and how is it defined?

In small-scale lobbying, an organisation has a maximum of five contacts with the lobbying targets during a calendar year. Thus, the limit for small-scale lobbying is low because it is contact-specific and not based on the number of themes, persons or targets.

Organisations engaged in small-scale lobbying are not obliged to submit disclosures of their activities in the Transparency Register.

Do I have to submit a disclosure of activities for my lobbying at SuomiAreena?

The contacts referred to in the Transparency Register Act mean contacts with Parliament and ministries to influence preparations of a matter and decision-making by promoting specific interests or objectives. It is therefore possible that when meeting people at SuomiAreena, you have also engaged in lobbying referred to in the Transparency Register Act.

However, discussions between private persons or lobbying at a public event or public meeting referred to in the Assembly Act, or lobbying carried out within the framework of the public debate are outside the scope of the Transparency Register.

What are the benefits of the Transparency Register to private citizens?

The Transparency Register provides openly accessible information on actors influencing decision-making in Parliament and ministries.

The Transparency Register contains the following information:

organisations lobbying decision-makers and public officials

the topics raised by lobbyists in their contacts with decision-makers and public officials

which decision-makers and public officials are lobbied and in which topics

how are decision-makers and public officials contacted.

Click here to browse through the lobbying information disclosed to the Transparency Register.

How is the Transparency Register supervised?

The use of the Transparency Register and compliance with the disclosure obligation are supervised by the National Audit Office of Finland (NAOF). The NAOF supervises the register to ensure that the registered parties submit their disclosures of activities as required and investigates any suspected cases of negligence.

The NAOF focuses on situations where it suspects serious negligence that may significantly undermine the reliability and credibility of the register. An investigation may be prompted by a request submitted by a lobbying target, a tip-off by an outsider or a suspicion that has surfaced in public. To safeguard the operations of the Transparency Register, it is important that the NAOF is able to react to suspected cases of negligence and investigate them.

You can find more answers to frequently asked questions on the questions and answers page.

The Transparency Register was also a topic in a SuomiAreena panel discussion in which the participants exchanged views on the following issues: who exercises power in Finland, how is decision-making influenced, lobbying topics in Finland, characteristics of inappropriate lobbying, and the meaning of transparent lobbying to lobbyists, people in power and citizens.

You can view the recording of the panel discussion at MTV Katsomo.

We would like to thank all those we met at SuomiAreena We are happy to answer further questions. Please send them to avoimuusrekisteri@vtv.fi.