Finnish Transparency Register (lobbyist register)

From 2024, lobbying activities targeted at Parliament and the ministries must be reported to the Finnish Transparency Register. The website avoimuusrekisteri.fi was launched in September 2023.

The Finnish Transparency Register will provide information on lobbying that is targeted at the preparation of decisions and decision-making at central government level. Any lobbying and lobbying consultancy that targets Parliament or the ministries must be reported to the Register.

The purpose of the Transparency Register is to improve the transparency of decision-making, prevent inappropriate lobbying, and strengthen citizens’ trust in the central government and democracy. The National Audit Office will be the registrar of the Transparency Register and oversee compliance with the disclosure obligation.

The Finnish Transparency Register will become operational in 2024. The avoimuusrekisteri.fi website has already been launched. The website provides more information on the Transparency Register as well as guidelines on how to use the Register. The guidelines will continue to be supplemented and specified.

The service portal intended for lobbyists and lobby consultants will be available from 1 January 2024. It will require strong authentication (Suomi.fi e-Identification). Registrations can be made by logging into the Transparency Register service portal. Users can start registering from 1 January 2024 onwards.

Lobbying and lobbying consultancy activities should be disclosed to the Transparency Register twice a year: disclosures of activities between January and June are submitted between July and August, and disclosures of activities between July and December are submitted between January and February. This means that disclosures of lobbying activities can be submitted in the service starting from 1 July 2024.