Basque Government lacks specific criteria to identify former officials' lobbying

The Basque Government has acknowledged that it lacks an express criterion to specifically identify which activities performed by former officials constitute lobbying. While the administration maintains that the current regulatory framework is sufficient to prevent conflicts of interest, it admitted during a parliamentary session that it cannot explicitly categorize these specific activities.

Responding to inquiries from EH Bildu, the Minister of Governance, Digital Administration, and Self-Government, María Ubarretxena, stated that the 2014 law effectively manages potential conflicts. The law prohibits former high-ranking officials from entering into any labor, commercial, or business relationships with private entities they dealt with directly during their public service for two years following their departure.

However, lawmakers questioned whether this regime is sufficient to prevent former officials from exercising undue influence regarding decisions or files they were directly involved in while in office. The government noted that while it tracks the companies former officials join through mandatory authorization requests, it lacks the specific mechanism to distinguish lobbying from other professional activities.