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🇪🇸 Spain /Elections & Politics

Ibex companies and lobbying firms seek to overturn law regulating meetings with politicians

From La Vanguardia · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Analysis Official statement New plan
  • Spain’s government is urgently pursuing a law to regulate lobbying, but the decree lacks enough support in Congress for ratification this month.
  • The proposed public register would require lobbyists to disclose the dates, locations, participants, subjects and documents involved in meetings with politicians.
  • Lobbying firms and companies argue that the measure could create excessive burdens, while the government says Spain is late in meeting its European commitments.

Spain’s lobbying sector has grown into a substantial network of companies, political connections and corporate teams seeking to influence public decisions. The government now wants to regulate it urgently, but its emergency decree does not currently have enough support in Congress to pass this month.

Companies in the Ibex 35 maintain their own public-affairs teams, while around a dozen firms, mostly based in Madrid, lobby on behalf of national and international clients. Their advantage often lies in their contacts across ministries and Congress. The sector generated 315 million euros in revenue in 2025, twice as much as three years earlier.

We are late.

· Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public AdministrationThe ministry’s justification for pursuing the lobbying rules through an urgent decree-law.

Firms including Acento, Llorente y Cuenca, Harmon, Kreab and Rud Pedersen employ former ministers, state secretaries, chiefs of staff and lawmakers from across Spain’s political spectrum. Corporate groups and business associations also maintain an active presence. The result, the article says, is a dense network of appointments built around access and influence.

The government agreed with Brussels that Spain would adopt its own lobbying law as part of the European recovery funds. A bill approved in 2025 remains blocked in Congress, so the executive has turned to a royal decree-law. The Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration, led by Óscar López, says Spain is late and must meet milestone 432 of the Recovery Plan.

The approval is not only driven by the need to meet milestone 432 of the Recovery Plan, but also by the government’s decision to respond to strong social and political demand.

· Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public AdministrationThe ministry’s explanation of why the government is advancing the measure.

The centre of the dispute is a mandatory national public register overseen by the Council for Transparency. It would require detailed information about meetings with politicians, including the date, place, participants, topics discussed and documents exchanged. The ministry says the proposal meets European Commission requirements and reflects parliamentary negotiations, including 19 agreed amendments signed at the end of last year.

Businesses see the measure differently. One listed company warns that approving the law in its current form would “multiply the Koldos,” a reference used in the article to express concern about the consequences of the rules. Junts has also taken a critical position and wants professional lobbying distinguished from other activities.

If the law is ultimately approved as it stands, the Koldos would multiply.

· An unnamed listed companyThe company’s criticism of the proposed lobbying rules and public register.
About this summary

Originally published by La Vanguardia in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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