DENMARK Trends and Developments Contributed by: Simon Evers Hjelmborg, Christian Monberg, Linn Dyrgaard Stinus and Ann Sophie Juul Hird, Accura Advokatpartnerselskab
Anti-Corruption in Denmark: Lobbyism Denmark consistently ranks at the top of Trans - parency International’s annual rule of law sur - vey (the Corruption Perceptions Index – CPI). In the 2023 CPI, Denmark was once again ranked number one out of 180 participating jurisdictions (2023 Corruption Perceptions Index). There is, however, one area in which Denmark is lacking. Denmark is facing criticism from, among others, the OECD due to the unregulated way in which lobbying activities are carried out in Denmark. Lobbying is a widespread practice in Danish politics whereby companies, organisations and other stakeholders attempt to influence political decisions. Several ministers have been known to abruptly change political course, seemingly to secure a high-ranking position in a major private company or organisation (the revolving doors phenomenon). Despite this, Denmark does not have any legislation regarding lobbying. There is some regulation of party funding and how politi - cal parties and candidates can receive financial support. The rules aim to ensure transparency and entail, inter alia, requirements as to parties and candidates disclosing donations above a certain threshold, and thereby increasing trans - parency as to who is financing political activi - ties, as well as set out limits on donations from individuals and companies. Besides this, unlike in many other countries in the European Union, lobbying is largely unregulated in Denmark. This has given rise to a national debate on the need for greater transparency and regulation when it comes to lobbying. Legislation – or the lack thereof In 1971, the Public Access to Administrative Information Act came into force in Denmark, marking a significant advancement for trans - parency in the Danish legislative process. The public was granted wide access to documents
and information held by public authorities, with only a few exceptions, ensuring a high level of transparency and openness in public adminis - tration. The law was considered to constitute the bare minimum of access rights encouraging public authorities to provide access to a greater extent than what was stipulated by the law with reference to the principle of greater openness. The law has since been revised, notably in 2013 where several highly controversial restrictions on access to information were introduced resulting in a general reduction of transparency in the Danish legislative process. Most famously, the 2013 revision introduced Section 22 of the act, pursuant to which the right of access to informa - tion does not cover matters related to “the keep - ing of calendars”. This means that the right of access no longer includes access to ministerial calendars or calendars kept by/for mayors and other officials. As a result, it is no longer possi - ble for the public to monitor who politicians are meeting with – including whether politicians are meeting with lobbying organisations. Furthermore, the 2013 revision introduced Sec - tion 24, according to which the right of access to information does not cover a vast portion of ministries’ internal documents. This has made it almost impossible for the public to access documents pertaining to situations where a minister receives advice and assistance in con - nection with the examination of a matter. The purpose of the provision is to ensure the protec - tion of the ability of public employees to freely and informally conduct their considerations and perform preparatory work without the pressure of potential later disclosure of purely preliminary considerations. However, the practical applica - bility of Section 24 has turned out to be far wider in practice; Section 24 has been used more than 2,000 times since its adoption in 2013.
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