A group of interest is any person, company or collective that attempts to influence the decisions or actions of public employees or public officials, regardless of how it is organized or whether it acts on its own or on behalf of others.
El Royal Decree-Law 21/2026, of 25 Augustthe transparency and integrity of the activities of lobbyists regulates, within the scope of the General Administration of the State and the public institutional sector of the State, the relations between lobbyists and senior staff, members of cabinets with functions of trust or special advice and public employees, within a framework of transparency for the prevention of situations of risk in public decision-making.
Title I of Royal Decree-Law 26/2026 establishes the Register of Interest Groups of the General Administration of the State and its institutional public sector.
The purpose is to guarantee the transparency and integrity of the activities carried out by these groups in their relations with the personnel and/or public office susceptible of receiving influence, in accordance with the provisions of article 3, for which the registration in the same will be mandatory.
The Register of Interest Groups, which is public and free of charge and which will be fully electronic, will respect the principles of transparency, equality and non-discrimination, and will comply with the requirements and parameters of universal accessibility established for e-government, so that it can be used autonomously by people with disabilities and older people.
The Registry shall contain at least the following data:
The relationship, ordered by category, of natural and legal persons and groups without legal personality that exercise the activity of influence, as well as their domicile or registered office.
The information to be provided by such persons and organizations, which will include, at least, the identification of the interest group and its representatives, the description of the influential activity carried out, the sources of funding and, where appropriate, the budget intended to exercise the influential activity.
List of persons who are members of the interest group or who provide services to it, who have held public positions or positions during the last five years from the moment of the registration of the group or, where appropriate, from the last update of the information.
The systems for monitoring and controlling breaches of the provisions of this Title and the rules of conduct of Title II.
The actions carried out by the interest groups, especially the meetings and hearings held with the personnel and/or public office susceptible of receiving influence, specifying, where appropriate, the rule or rules on which it is intended to influence, as well as communications, reports and any documentation related to the subject on which influence activity is exercised.
With regard to the information provided by the interest groups, the information that for legal reasons has prohibited or limited access, as well as the information that concurs with reasons of security or commercial or industrial secrecy, appreciated by the staff and/or public office in a motivated manner, will not be made public, which will be included in the regulatory footprint report provided for in Title III.
A commitment of express acceptance by the interest group of the rules of conduct regulated in Title II and, where appropriate, of the specific codes of conduct that apply to it, as well as of the obligations entailed by the registration in the Register.
It is the Council of Transparency and Good Government, to which the Register of Interest Groups is attached.
It will be responsible for the governance and management of the registry, as well as the monitoring and control powers.
The Transparency and Good Governance Council will prepare an annual report on the operation of the Register of Interest Groups, which should be published in the first half of the year and forwarded to the Congress of Deputies.
Any person performing public functions with the capacity to intervene in the formulation, execution or supervision of public policies, normative elaboration or administrative decision-making processes, within the General Administration of the State and its institutional public sector, is considered to be a person and/or public office capable of receiving influence.
These include:
Senior personnel, defined in article 1.2 of Law 3/2015, of March 30, regulating the exercise of the high office of the General Administration of the State.
The members of the cabinets that provide functions of trust or special advice, referred to in article 10 of Law 50/1997, of November 27, of the Government.
The public management staff.
Prospective staff, including those who hold positions of trust or special counsel and who participate in decision-making or public policy design.
The personnel of the General Administration of the State and its institutional public sector who participate decisively in public decision-making, in the processes of elaboration of normative provisions and in the execution of public policies.
Members of advisory bodies and advisors linked to the formulation of public policies within the General Administration of the State.
