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Lobbying in EU . Thomas Prorok. Key facts. 3 000 special interest groups of varying types in Brussels . 10 000 employees working in the lobbying sector. In the United States, nearly 35,000 registered lobbyists for Congress alone.
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Lobbying in EU Thomas Prorok
Key facts • 3 000 special interest groups of varying types in Brussels. • 10 000 employees working in the lobbying sector. • In the United States, nearly 35,000 registered lobbyists for Congress alone. • Within this total there are more than 500 European and international federations. • About 50 offices in Brussels representing countries, regional and local authorities. • 200 individual firms with direct representation, and about 100 consultants (management, and public relations). • 100 law firms in Belgium specializing in Community law and many more in other countries (both member states and beyond).
Definition • Lobbying is the professional practice of public affairs advocacy, with the goal of influencing a governing body by promoting a point of view. • “Lobby” is in front of the debating chamber of the House of Commons. • The EU helps form, design, implement and/or influence approximately 80% of all economic and 50% of all political decisions taken in the Community today.
ROLE I - Monitoring • Observing the developments in upcoming EU legislation • European Commission (sole right of initiating EU legislation) • European Parliament (particularly in areas where it has co-decision making powers with Council). • Feed back this information • Modified proposal to the city’s/region’s benefit • Practical advice • Good knowledge about the EU institutions • Know the principal players in a specific area • Knowledge about which Directorate Generals (DGs) are linked to a specific work area. • Are there (formalised) relations with local authorities? • Make the officials being depend on you. • Informal relationships with key people helps.
ROLE II - Lobbying • Being able to explain the local/regional position to EU decision-makers with a view to the local/regional position being understood and adopted at an early stage • “How to get the right information to the right person at the right time” • The focus of this activity is on European Commission/European Parliament officials and Members of the European Parliament. • Briefing papers, position papers, media management • Clear and short position papers in easy accessible languages. • constructive: propose alternative solutions, formulations, compromise texts, as seems appropriate. • Follow up to the papers. • meetings to offer to explain the submission or ascertain whether, and if so where, its incorporation would cause problems. • circulate your paper and meet other DGs, officials from other EU-institutions, the media, embassies and NGOs. • If there are lobbyists working against your preferred solution, it is worth getting to know them.
ROLE III – Networking & Promoting • Networking • Build ties with other regional and local representatives and with officials of the EU Institutions via social, as well as formal personal contacts • “It’s not always what you know but who you know” • Promoting • Bridges or contact points for intercultural relations. • quite expensive and therefore organised by the larger offices. • Offices also promote their EU knowledge in the respective municipality/region. • Training courses, conferences and round tables, regular newsletters, traineeships, study visits to the EU institutions. • Practical advice: • media should be made aware that the office has something to say. • find out which journalists work in what areas. • Agence Europe, the daily news bulletin on all EU policy areas. • Agence Europe is read by almost everybody who deals with European issues. It is important to get position papers and press releases printed. • An influential weekly newspaper is the European Voice (an offshoot of The Economist).
ROLE IV – Contacts and Sources Informal and formal contacts Don’t contact the relevant official until you are thoroughly prepared to deal with the issues likely to trouble them. The administration in Brussels is YOUR administration. Civil servants in Brussels are much more open and approachable and interested Basic information is published by the Commission in the EU Official Journal & supplement Regular reports About specific policy areas by the European Commission, the reports of the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions and the Social and Economic Committee Green Papers address specific policy areas of significant importance. overview of the status quo and encourage discussion amongst the civil society on possible changes. White Papers: include precise legal proposals from the Commission. These reports are especially important for local governments, submit opinion papers directly to the Commission without the national government. annual legislative programme of the Commission
ROLE V – Advocacy and influencing • The lobbyist crafts a strategy and organises the campaign, but it is the client who primarily delivers the message directly to politicians and officials.
European Commission • Participation in Commission working groups • Thousands of working groups. • Invitations to participate are sent by the Commission to the Permanent Representatives. • national government places these experts. • Send an expert on the delegation of a European organisation (i.e. CEMR) • These organisations have reserved seats on the working groups.
European Parliament • Good relationships with individual MEPs and their assistants are always helpful. • Knowledge about the EP Committees and relevance for a specific area. • rules of procedure of the Parliament - which MEP sits in the co-ordinators’ group of a specific Committee. • MEP who passes on information about decisions taken at co-ordinators’ meetings. • about upcoming reports, the future rapporteurs and their political groups or about planned public hearings and the possibility of experts being invited. • Maybe representatives from home could be invited to speak at hearings. • Ideas for hearings can easily be put forward to MEPs. • The office has to try to influence the reports the MEPs are writing. • MEPs are also helpful in formulating written or oral questions to the Council and the Commission on specific issues. • A good assistant might be as important as the MEP. • Officials in the EP are often as important – if not more so – than MEPs. • If they know the office has something to say and is well prepared – they will contact the office for further input.
Council • Council of the European Union is not easy to work with since it represents national interests only. • distant relationship with local and regional governments. • Council decisions must be lobbied for/against in the MS. • Once a topic has reached the Council, influence is very limited. • Nevertheless: Secretariat’s mailing list for relevant meetings. • Who in the Permanent Rep. is dealing with which area. • Possibility of finding out which issues will be high on the next Presidency’s agenda. • If one’s own country holds the next presidency then lobbying for specific topics to be put on the agenda presents a possibility. • This work starts as long as 18 months before the presidency commences. • Lobbying to be carried out “at home” rather than in Brussels. • although the Permanent Representation will also be making an input, which could perhaps be influenced.
