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Lobby Ethics / Public Affairs Ethics

Since 2015, I have served as President of the Supervising Commission for Romanian Lobby and Advocacy Transparency Registry. Previously, between 2013 and November 2015, I was the General Secretary of this ethics body for the Lobby industry. In all this time, I contributed significantly to the drafting and approval of a new Code of Ethics for this industry, design and development of a self-paced ethics training and wrote about ethics in this field.

I am an active lobbyist, but my work is concentrated mainly on integrity in public and private sectors. I have also been involved in other projects on ethics in (i) Public Health, medical services and clinical trials approval and management, (ii) Education, (iii) as well as the Insurance and Banking industries.

In 2022 and 2023, I will be delivering a 3-day training program called “Ethics in Public Affairs. Representing Interests with Integrity“, which is hosted by the Ethics & Compliance Academy. It is an intensive program designed for professionals interested in advancing their career in Public Affairs / Lobby / Governmental Affairs / Ethics & Compliance.

I currently work on a book on Ethics in Public Affairs that contains both theoretical content and case studies. The volume will be published by an international publisher in mid-2023.

Projects Selection

2007-present | Ethics Institutionalization

  • I constantly push for various complementary approaches to ethics institutionalization in public and private organizations. My whole career is built around this topic and I regularly talk about it in public events and I write about it. Regarding the ethics institutionalization in the public sector, I am regularly involved in activities on anti-corruption/public integrity coordinated or supported by the Ministry of Justice, other public institutions or the civil society.

2020-2022 | Whistleblowing

  • I campaigned heavily for a smart transposition of the Whistleblowing Directive, Directive (EU) 2019/1937, in Romanian legislation. I wrote public notes about it, I participated in public debates hosted by the civil society, the Ministry of Justice and the Romanian Parliament.

2016 | R.U.T.I.

  • I campaigned for a stronger enforcement of the Unique Interests Transparency Register (R.U.T.I.) by the Romanian Government. I participated in several activities both with Ministry of Public Consultation and Civic Dialogue coordinated by Ms. Violeta Alexandru and with the civil society.

2012-2016 | Non-Financial Reporting

  • Initially, I campaigned for an extended regulatory framework addressing non-financial reporting in the business sector. In 2014, with the publication by the EU institutions of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), Directive 2014/95/EU, I began campaigning for a smart transposition of the EU document in Romanian legislation. I wrote policy briefs on the subject and organized a conference hosted within the building of the Romanian Government. I have also participated in various TV shows (here and here).
  • My main focus was on making non-financial data transparent and available in a unified framework/modelling language.

Publications & Presentations

Lobby în România vs. Lobby în UE

DUCU, Cristian (2022), The Ethics of Lobby. Some ‘Marginal Remarks; Forumul Național de Lobby și Advocacy, April 7, Marshal Garden Hotel, Bucharest, Romania.
DUCU, Cristian (2019), Political Risk from a Public Affairs Perspective; at “Conferința Națională de Lobby și Advocacy”, Bucharest Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bucharest, September 24.
DUCU, Cristian (2017), Lobby and Influence-Peddling for Romanian Public Administration Professionals; invited at the “Integritatea si prevenirea coruptiei in sectorul public” (“Corruption Prevention and Integrity in the Public Sector”) Workshop, May 25, HQ of the Giurgiu County Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, Giurgiu, Romania. Organizers: Giurgiu County Council and General Directorate of Anti-Corruption – Giurgiu.