I do not know if it's a joke that i'm too european to understand or you're serious, but at least in europe there are some rules regarding lobby and transparency[1]. Bribes are of course something that doesn't follow the rules and thus are not lobbying.

[1] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/at-your-service/en/transparen...

I am also European and your way of thinking is completely alien to me.

Maybe you should move to Russia, or the USA, where your way of thinking would be much more at home.

Same way as advertising, just much more personal. There are ways to change people's opinions without paying them.

Plenty of companies have Public Affairs departments that work essentially as lobbyist, but no bribery neither to the MEP nor the Political Party is involved.

Many lobbyists work "simply" by producing reports and collecting data that works in favor or their proposals, publishing them to opinion pieces in newspapers etc.

There is no explicit bribery, but there are plenty of examples where a government bureaucrat leaves to join a company they were "regulating" on a fat pay cheque.

The EU is not unique in this though.

Bribery becomes lobbying when bribery is legalized. Also especially enforcement depends on who does the favors for the reps and officials.

Without judgment: I've started noticing how a different culture cannot imagine some phenomenon (e.g. some problem) not occuring in another culture. It's leading me to question what things I consider as universal constant that aren't.