THE MOST ACTIVE LAWMAKERS:ROMANIA, POLAND AND HUNGARY

1041ACTS WERE APPROVED OVER THE COURSE

OF THE 12-MONTH PERIOD

95

96

214

249

290

97

Bulgaria

Czech Republic

Hungary

Poland

Romania

Slovakia

34.7%OF THE LAWS GENERATED

SIGNIFICANT MEDIA COVERAGE

45%OF THE APPROVED ACTS (468 OUT OF

1041) HAD A DIRECT IMPACT ON BUSINESS

#1

Proportion of acts submitted by MPs

In Bulgaria, the complicated structure of the governing coalition (two conservative parties, one nationalist party and one socialist) means that most of the decision-making process happens in Parliament.

In Hungary, where the Government continues to avoid discussion of certain sensitive issues (e.g. closure of shops on Sundays), several bills were submitted by governing coalition MPs rather than ministries. Although the rate of amendments submitted by representatives was lower than a year ago, there were many cases of government excluding industry or public debate.

0%6%

10%3%

55%

7%

Bulgaria Czech

Republic

Hungary Poland Romania Slovakia

The Romanian Government’s emergency ordinances (GEO) decreased by 7% over the last year, several NGOs claimed that the Government adopted a new strategy in order to reduce the extraordinary procedures and at the same time continue to ensure the swift implementation of new provisions. This strategy consists in regulating several different sectors through a single GEO.

About Grayling AcTrend Report 2015

This report was prepared by Grayling Central & Eastern Europe (CEE)’s Public Affairs Practice Group and examines laws passed in six CEE countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia) between 1 August 2014 and 1 August 2015.

Grayling's Public Affairs teams used publicly available data (mainly Parliamentary websites) for the research and the report covers acts of Parliament only. In terms of media coverage, Grayling’s teams did not make a quantitative analysis of the coverage generated by each piece of legislation; if an article focusing on the act in question appeared in one of the most respected and/or widely-read media titles, it was categorised as an act which generated “significant” media coverage.

For the full report, please visit grayling.comFor more information please contact gergely.abraham@grayling.com

45%

16%

33%

32%

49%

13%

43%

19%

44%

11%9%

8%

Bulgaria Czech

Republic

Hungary Poland Romania Slovakia

2014/2015 2013/2014

In Romania there is a pre- and post-electoral context, given that one of the candidates in Romania’s 2014 presidential elections was the incumbent Prime Minister Victor Ponta, the leader of Social Democrats, the largest governing party. The acts were tracked and reported by the press as part of his effort to connect legislative changes that could have impacted the presidential race.

Agriculture14%

Energy7%

Finance Sector

14%

General business

36%

Health Care9%

ICT4%

Industrials6%

Service sector10%

+86MORE ACTS COMPARED TO LAST YEAR

30%

12%

23%

2%

22%

12%

28%

5%

27%

19%

14%

17%

Bulgaria

Czech Republic

Hungary

Poland

Romania

Slovakia

2013/2014 2014/2015

In Romania, situation is explained, on the one hand, by the 2014 electoral context; on the other, as a general rule, when approaching the mid-term, lawmakers become more active in submitting legislative initiatives that can boost their visibility ahead of the next election.

KEY FINDINGS2014/2015

17%3 acts per day

on avarage

THE MOST ACTIVE LAWMAKERS:ROMANIA, POLAND AND HUNGARY

#2

In Bulgaria, the media is following the legislative process closely because the ruling coalition is slightly unstable and each piece of legislation may create a conflict, which could easily escalate and provoke a government reshuffle.

Proportion of acts generated media attention

AGRICULTURE AND FINANCIAL SECTORS

FACED THE MOST NEW REGULATIONS IN CEE#3

16% OF ACTS WITH AN IMPACT ONBUSINESS WERE SUBMITTED BY MPS

#4

4%

17% OF ACTS WITH AN IMPACT ON BUSINESS WERE APPROVED THROUGH AN EXTRAORDINARY PROCEDURE

#5

3%