Lobbying through European Associations and Umbrella organizations

An unbelievable amount of lobbying in Brussels is done through associations and umbrella organisations. These vary from your typical industry associations to the European Youth Council. But how effective are they and is it worth spending money (in the form of membership fee) and energy (you have to attend meetings and give input) or should you simply “ do it yourself”.

Strength through numbers

In my opinion there are certainly some excellent associations and umbrella organisations operating in Brussels. Amongst them I would name COPA-COGECA (representing the European farmers) and BusinessEurope. The European Commission isn’t able to talk with each and every stakeholder when drawing up legislation or policy, so it is better to talk to the representatives from the field, which in turn represent thousands, sometimes millions of persons. Moreover, the aforementioned organizations also have a lot of in-house expertise and organizational capacity so the European institutions can rely on them for input and to create legitimacy Europe wide for policy. Paying for membership of these kind of organizations is worth every penny, and moreover it is also wise to monitor internal developments so you can steer the positions and activities of such “ giants”.

The draw-backs

There are however a couple of draw-backs of having your interest represented by umbrella organizations. You should be aware that such umbrella organizations sometimes represent very diverse interest. Consumer umbrella organizations for example have to juggle between the interests of consumers wanting more ease when buying online versus consumers which value privacy more, and thus would like to see barriers to information gathering on the internet. Sometimes these internal conflicts of interest are unbridgeable. What then often happens is that there is a consensus to “agree to disagree” or even worse, the biggest interest within the umbrella organization wins it from the smaller factions. This sometimes has as a perverted result that the umbrella organization to whome you pay a fee to represent your interest becomes a way to block your lobby. You should be aware that this happens in Brussels with some frequency and that from the moment you realize this is happening, you should abort any plans of lobbying through the umbrella association.

The second draw-backs of lobbying though umbrella organizations is that they tend to be a bit slow and sluggish when it comes to reacting to new policy developments. This is because construing official positions requires both internal administrative as well as political agreement. It has happened that umbrella organization were not able to react on time to fast developing policies.

Concluding remarks

Yes, associations and umbrella organisations DO matter in Brussels. They are often the official spokesperson for industry and civil society towards the institutions. Some Members of Parliaments refuse to talk to smaller actors, opting to talk only to the big organisations that represent them. However, bear in mind that umbrella organisations and associations can sometimes be very slow to react to policy developments, and are sometimes even a blocking power because of internal bickering. if you have the feeling this is the case, dont ever hesitate to start your own lobby. 

Open Days 2012 Special: Why have a regional representation in Brussel

There are over 200 regional representations in Brussel. Every year during the EU Open Days we celebrate the partnership between the EU and regions. As part of this the coming weeks, EU KNOW HOW blogs will focus especially on EU regional interest representation; Our first blog answers the question on why have a regional representation in the first place?

Lobbying requires a lot of resources. Budget does help, but it  is third in importance compared to manpower and political will. A certain cost benefit analysis should be at the basis of any rational behind deciding to have a regional representation in Brussels. Still, when making a cost-benefit analysis you should also take into account the so called “opportunity costs”. While a lot of representations have a hard time measuring how much did their lobby benefit from being based in Brussels or the national capital, it is quite easy calculating how much it costs when you are not involved in European Affairs. There are numerous examples of regions facing problems with legislations or being the last to get funded. Often -if not always- these laggards  have been “sleeping” while legislations was passed. And while no regional representation is alike, I think there are basicly tree main reasons regional lobby’s should lobby in Brussels.

1. Monitoring and influencing Legislation

More then 50% of national legislation originates in Brussels. This figure rises to almost 80% if you only take environmental legislation into account. Bearing in mind that local governments are often responsible for carrying out, monitoring and upholding this legislation, it becomes all the more apparent that it is important to be aware of upcoming legislation in an early stage. This is no trivial matter, as the wrong application of EU legislation can lead to claims in court, complaints at the European Commission , decision to be annulled, fines and/or repayment of unintentional damages. But more important is the damage to the reputation of a local government. Citizens of local governments have the right to depend on sound governance, and you can imagine how a European court-case undermines the respectability of a municipality or region.

2. Monitoring and seizing financial opportunities

The EU has an agreed budget of €120.7 billion for the year 2011 and €864.3 billion for the period 2007–2013. About 30% of this budget are reserved for structural action, which target the regional and municipal level. In times of crisis and budgetcuts the EU budget can make a real and sustainable impact to regional development. Regions often joke that the EU is a bigger friend to local governments then their own national ministries. By being in Brussel it is easier to monitor and seize the financial opportunities that the EU provides. By maintaining contacts, you will be able to hear about call for proposals before they come out and find partners to tea up with for the development of your EU project.

3. Building the profile of your municipality or region

Building a European profile of your municipality or region is a must if you want to have success influencing the EU legislative process or seizing the financial opportunities the EU has to offer. How many times have I seen local governments go to Brussels as part of a annual trip, in the hope to make a statement. This is a utter waste of time and resources. Brussels is a constant flux of people, and just visiting once a year will have no impact.  “Being there” is an advantage you have over thousands of competitors EU-wide. However, just being there is not enough. While no region is alike, you should at least be seen as a reliable partner that not only “takes” but also “gives”. As a former MEP told me at the start of my career; “If a problem arises in the EU, the whole of Europe wil start calling 1 or 2 members of European Parliament. Make sure they know you and appreciate you before you have a problem!”. And indeed, as a legislative proces reaches its decisive stage policymakers are inundated with e-mails and phone-calls. The policymaker will decide to answer only those that have a track-record in contributing with sound advise.


All the wrong reasons to have a regional representation in Brussels.

While I think it is important that every region is present in the national capital, at the same time regions should think twice before opening shop in Brussels. Some say; Europe is becoming increasingly more important!  But is it really? Does the region have a good overview of it’s “European interests”. Here are at least tree wrong reasons why regions enter the world of EU lobbying.

Goldrush
This is a bit of a contradiction of the beforementioned reason to actually be present in Brussel. A lot of regional representations are in Brussels because of the EU Budget. And while the EU Budget is an attractive reason to be based in Brussels, one should always be cautioned not to be struck by gold-fever. In reality, EU funds are very difficult to come by. Cohesion funds are allocated by a National Envelop, and so are funds from the CAP. To get money from yearly calls for proposals depend as much on having a good project proposal as on lobbying. Lobbying does help, but only if the project proposal is already excellent, and it needs that extra push in the midst of competing excellent projects.

Not a local or regional issue
The European Union spans a wide range of policy issues, from enlargement to transport. Does your local government really have the competencies to deal with all EU issues? Does your Province really have to have an opinion on the European Union wind-energy policy? Or the European Union pension system for that matter? With the right stretch of imagination, you could make a case that everything has a local or regional dimension to it, and before you know it you will be involved in countless meetings spending numerous hours discussing things that only have a marginal relevance for your region. Sometimes it is difficult to judge if something is important for your local government. In case of doubt it is even better not to take action then to take action. In Brussels there are numerous professionails with their own pet projects, and they will do anything to convince you that this policy issue is pressing. Avoid getting tangled in their web. The golden rule is; a policy issue is only important if a lot of people are working on it, and if there is substantial budget involved.

Not an European issue
As a lobbyist at the European Union for the Dutch Province of Zeeland, a lot of local stakeholders came to me with issues which they hoped to solve on EU level. However not every problem or issue can be resolved on the EU level. Paving a local road with little importance for the EU, or building a local yacht harbour are just some things that come to mind. And while it certainly is not impossible, it is not always easy to interest the EU for a local issue unless you can prove that more European regions face the same problem.     

How to lobby for EU funding

The EU bolst a budget of billions of Euro’s. Getting to those billions is however an arduous and complex undertaking that will will require both time and energy. There are roughly said, three moments when lobbying for funds can take place; When regulations are drawn up, when the annual or operation programme is drawn up and at project level.

The Regulation; The root of all funds

Every EU fund has its root in a regulation. There are thee reasons why influencing a regulation might be beneficial; First, because you can try to have your distinctive theme or issue mentioned in the regulation (such as climate change, or SME’s). For this reason regional representations always try to add a territorial or regiona aspect to regulations that govern a certain fund. Secondly, some regulations bear an allocation formula. Such is the case for most structural funds. Tweaking this formula will have an impact on the amount of money that your member state, region or what-not will receive. Finally, lobbying a fund regulation also gives you the opportunity to make a fund more workable. Most funds will need some amount of co-financing. Both the amount as the natura of co-financing (private or public money) is always a matter of debate. Another example would be lump-sums or variable rates for overhead costs of project. Working on a regulation while it is still a proposal will make it will be easier to acces and work with later on. Please mind, that while lobbying at this stage is both sensible and necessary, it is quite difficult. Moreover the opportunity comes along only once every 7 years, when the EU multi-annual budget and it subsequent funding schemes are developed.

Annual or operational programs.

Every regulation will be worked out in a more detailed annual plan or an operational program (in case of the structural funds). These programs highlight the goals, objectives and measures of each and every fund. For the centrally managed project it is the European Commission that draws the programs, for the structural funds it is either the member state or the regions, in both cases in good partnership with stakeholders. There is no uniform way how programmes are drawn up. This differes from fund to fund. What is uniform however, is that all funds will allow for some degree of inpunt by stakeholders. Most of the time the people drawing up the program will appreciate timely and accurate input. So it it very important to identify at an early stage who will draw the annual or operation program and when there are opportunities to provide input. Why are these programmes important. Regulations provide for goals and objectives at a very abstract level. The regulation might for example say that climate change is an objective of a fund, the program makes the regulation more tangible (promotion of electric cars). Secondly, operational programmes sometime provide for gouverning rules which enable or unable you to make use of funds. (the programme area of Interreg is determined in the programmes, so if your region is outside a certain programme area, your tough out of luck).

Project level

We have arrived at the most concrete level, that of the project. Most if not all EU funding will in the end need some kind of projectdesign to approve funding. In other words you will need to design a project. While it goes beyond the scope of this blog to write how to write a EU projectproposal  I will limit myself to saying that your project needs to be well written. All the lobbying in the world wont help if your project is poorly written and/or designed. A good project can take over a year to develop. When you are the proud owner of a well written project, turn to lobbying. A project is always evaluated either by European Commission evaluators or by steering committees. In both cases try to find out who they are. Try to find out if the person(s) in question are receptive to input. Some project evaluators like to see concept projects in order to give advice and feedback. Some however are absolutely allergic to lobbying and don’t like to be approached under no circumstances. Then its  “mission abort”. Secondly, always find political backing for your project. This doesn’t need to be someone with direct decision making power in the project selection process. You can find for example a local deputy or an Member of European Parliament to endorse your project. Finally try to push  the theme, goal or objective of your project. If your project is about energy efficiency in your local port, don’t promote your specific port, try to promote energy efficiency in ports in general. By lifting your project to a EU level you can lobby and promote your cause without being accused of promoting just one particular pet-project.  

Shadier parts of European Union policy making

Counter to what a lot of academics, media, politicians and conspiracy theorists would have us believe, I would argue that European Union politics is very open, accessible and transparent. True, the sheer complexity of the process makes it very difficult to follow, but at the end of the day, if you have the time, resources and energy you can monitor and influence EU policy.

Having said this, there are parts of European lawmaking which are murkier, shadier and less easy to follow. They are what I call the shadier parts of the EU process; moments where there are no camera's, meeting-minutes, rapports or public access. They are not only troublesome because there is no possibility for public scrutiny, but also because of the limited access for Public Affairs professionals .

Roll-call votes at committees

Parliamentary Committees are a crucial part of the EU decision process. They compose experts and coordinators of the various political families and their votes are used for group whipping. It is all the more strange that votes in Parliamentary committees are not subject to roll-call. Meaning that after the voting has taken place there isn't a registration showing who exactly voted in which way. An effort by the British MEP Andrew Duff to change this was rejected by the EP constitutional affairs committee. Some MEP's argued that it would be technically difficult to implement, which of course is baloney.

First Reading Trialogues

Rules 70 of the European Parliament allows Committees and Committee members to negotiate with Council before a proposal goes to vote (either in committee or plenary). The members negotiating with Council have to -in principle- take a decision by a majority of its members and adopt a mandate on the poltical orientations and priorities. However in practice negotiations take place in various forms, both formally and informally. In Brussels, everybody talks to everybody. As a consequence more and more proposals are being adopted in first reading. This avoids lengthy legislative processes, however it makes it much more difficult to monitor and scrutinize whats going on. 

Delegated acts

When a law is adopted there will still be a need for some decision making in the implementation phase. For example when a law on prohibited substances is made there still the necessity to draw up a list of substances or products. Because it would be silly to open up legislation and go through the whole co-decision process again,  decision-makings-powers can be delegated to the European Commission. This used to be called Comitology, but after the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty it is now called "Delegated Acts". Whatever the name, it boils down to the Commission making decisions without consulting Parliament or Council. It has been criticized for opening up the back-door for ambiguous decisions. Lisbon has made it a bit more transparent because Council and Parliament have to agree upfront till wha extent they will allow Commission to decide, and moreover they can actually block decisions made under "Delegated Acts."

In Camera meetings 

The Rules of Procedure state that hearings and testimony in the European Parliament shall take place in public. However, proceedings can take place in camera if this is requested by one quarter of the members of the committee of inquiry, or by the Community or national authorities, or where the temporary committee of inquiry is considering secret information. In practice In Camera meetings have been called on different occasions while the reason for doing so wasn't always clear. Moreover, the European Parliament never disclosed which members actually called for the meeting to be behind closed doors. 

12 SEPTEMBER EN EUROPA DEEL 1: PVDA

Disclaimer to English readers: Blog in Dutch because of 2012 Dutch elections.

Europa zal als nooit tevoren een belangrijk onderdeel zijn van de Tweede Kamerverkiezingen. Maar hoe is het eigenlijk gesteld met Europa in de verkiezingsprogramma’s. Hoe Europaproof zijn de partijen eigenlijk? Met deze reeks analses nemen we de verkiezingsprogramma’s onder de loep en kijken we of de partijen een realistisch, eerlijk en duidelijk verhaal hebben als het om Europa gaat. We trappen af met het verkiezingsprogramma van de PVDA.

Algemene indruk

Het verkiezingsprogramma van de PVDA is opvallend Europa-gezind. Met name als men het vergelijkt met voorgaande verkiezingsprogrammas zoals bijvoobeeld  voor de Europese verkiezingen. De partij kiest voor een toekomst in Europa. Van “uit de euro stappen”  is géén sprake.  In hun eigen woorden; “Een Europa dat groeit, laat Nederland groeien” . Wel menen ze dat het tijd is voor een nieuw Europa; van strenge bezuinigingen naar groei en banen. Daarmee volgen ze in weze de lijn van hun partijgenoten in Frankrijk. Heel veel elementen van het programma pleiten voor verdere Europese integratie. Het gaat dan om practische zaken; het PVDA is voorstander van een Europees bankentoezicht en de invoering van de omstreden Eurobonds. Kenmerkend is dat ook meer federalistische elementen voorgesteld worden. Zo wil het PVDA dat het Europees Parlement de voorzitter van de Commissie levert en het bovendien is het PVDA vóór invoering van Europese kieslijsten. Al en al een verkiezingsprogramma dat de PVDA weer terug in het hart van de Europese discussie plaatst

Realistisch

Behalve duidelijk is het programma bovendien in veel opzichten opvallend realistisch. Menig partij heeft zich de afgelopen jaren schuldig gemaakt aan het beloven van zaken die in een Europees verband niet uitgevoerd konden worden vanwege EU regels of vanwege het ontberen van een meerderheid in Europa. De PVDA wil onder andere immigratieproblemen  en belastingfraude via Europa aanpakken. Ook weten ze dat aanpassingen van regels inzake sociale huurwoningen en kerosinesubsidies ze niet in Den Haag, maar in Brussel moeten gaan lobbyen. Ook de uitspraken over uitbreiding laten zien dat het PVDA niet bang is om realistische, duidelijke keuzes te maken.

Kritische Noten

Is het verkiezingsprogramma dan in zijn geheel Europaproof? Bijna. Er staan nog steeds elementen in die onrealistisch zijn of maar deels kloppen. Zo meent het PVDA dat er nog te weinig structuurfondsen naar het MKB gaat, terwijl in deze programmaperiode er drie keer zoveel naar het MKB is gegaan dan oorspronkelijk de bedoeling was (100 miljoen ipv 30 mln). Ook wil het PVDA de voedseloverschotten gebruiken voor voedselbanken. Dit is de afgelopen jaren ook gebeurd middels het food for the deprived programma. De realiteit van vandaag is echter dat door de voedselprijzen er geen voedseloverschotten meer te vinden. Ook de houding ten aanzien van gemeenschappelijk landbouwbeleid kan iets genuanceerder.  In Nederland is er namelijk al radicaal ontkoppeld en is er bijna geen sprake meer van exportsubsidies of productiesteun. Ook vraag ik mij af hoe het PVDA geld van het ESF wil gebruiken om jeugdwerkeloosheid te bestrijden als ze ook pleitten voor een miljard korting. Als je kort op de begroting is er ook minder geld voor bestrijding van jeugdwerkeloosheid of het stimuleren van energieprojecten. Het PVDA wil nog meer betrokkenheid van de Tweede Kamer, terwijl juist hier de laatste jaren heel veel slagen zijn gemaakt en Nederland in Europa inmiddels een voorbeeldfunctie heeft. Ook het idee dat lobbyisten bij de Raad zich moeten registreren in het lobbyregister is een beetje merkwaardig omdat de Raad een verlengstuk is van de hoofdsteden en lobbyisten ‘ van de Raad’  dus niet in Brussel maar in de hoofdsteden zitten. Ook zet ik vraagtekens bij het idee om de staatssecretaris van Europese Zaken te plaatsen bij het ministerie van Algemene Zaken. Hij zal dan misschien beter verankert zijn in de Nederlandse politiek, maar ontbeert dan de externe voelsprieten die het ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken hem kan bieden.  Ik was benieuwd naar de mening van voormalig staatssecretaris Frans Timmermans hierover. Via Facebook liet hij mij weten dat het zijn idee was omdat de toon van het Europees beleid en bovendien de coordinatie gedicteerd zou worden door de premier.

Eindoordeel

Al en al is het het verkiezingsprogramma van het PVDA verbazingswekkend Europaproof. Het geeft heldere antwoorden op de meest prangende vragen en doet dat op een realistische manier. Her en der is het nog niet ontdaan van achterhaalde kreten , maar dat neemt niet weg dat het een bijzonder realistisch verkiezingsprogramma is.

Milos labovic

-Op persoonlijke titel

Milos Labovic houdt zich tot in de treurnis bezig met Europese zaken. Hij was voorzitter van de Jong Europees Federalisten van 2005 tot 2007 en richtte de werkgroep Europa op bij de Nationale Jeugdraad. Daarnaast was hij van 2007 tot 2009 adviseur van de Servische regering op het gebied van Europese integratie en is hij nu inmiddels drie jaar lobbyist in Brussel. Hij heeft een Master in European Studies van de Universiteit van Maastricht en een Magister in Europawissenschaften van de RWTH Aachen. 

European Parliament Assistents

Apart from political assistants and the secretariats MEP's are also helped by their own personal assistants.

It is difficult to overstate the importance of the assistents of members of the European Parliament. While it is ofcourse the members of the European Parliament who in the end are the decision makers, it is safe to say that without parliamentary assistant the whole legislative process in the EU would come to a screaching halt. Parliamentary assistants are the oil that makes the engine run smoothly. It is all the more strange that there is hardly any scholarly research done on the influence of MEP assistants on the legislative process.

So who are they?

MEP assistants tend to be relative young persons, sometimes taking up the assistantship as their first or second job after graduating from University. A lot of the times they have some affinity with Brussels as they have either a European Studies or political studies background. the University of Maastricht and the College of Europe seem to be the chief suppliers of assistants, even though no formal study can back this claim. A majority of them are members of the same party as their MEP, even though a significant number does not have a party membership but is picked for their merit, expertise and/or experience. In certain cases assistants have gone on to become MEP's as was the case with Sophia in t Veld and Emma McClarckin. Assistants are as a rule cheerfull, open personalities and very dedicated to their work. They do however seem in a constant stress because of the workload thrown at them by their MEP's. So don't be surprised if a assistant doesn't have time to chat when you meet them in Parliament, it is rarely something personal, rather their to bussy.

What do they do?

The role of Parliamentary assistants varies from MEP to MEP. Sometime there is a internal division between assistants; some act as policy advisors, while others do more logistics stuff like answering email, managing the MEP's agenda and welcoming groups. More often though assistants will do both. The extent to which a assistant is a policy advisor -or in extreme situation atually drafts policy- depends on various factors. The most important one is the MEP and to what extent to he entrusts the assistant with policy advice or even formulation. Besides that, there is some degree of competition with both the group political advisor and the committee secretariats when in comes to to assisting the MEP. Also, the role of the assistant will depend on his expertise, engagement and bond with the MEP. They are rarely given the task of drafting a whole rapport, as opposed to drafting amendments which they are often entrusted to do. In the end the work of a MEP assistants boils down to knowing what his MEP wants and making sure all initiatives are coherent with this.

How can assistants help you further your cause?

In the case of the MEP assistant, this question is formulated the wrong way. It should be the other way around; How can you help the assistant? Understanding this is vital to building a longstanding relationship with assistants. By assisting him with anything from information to thinking how certain press releasing can be distributed you can really help the assistant and save him/her time. As the guardian  of his MEP, an assistant will never do you a favor which is opposed to positions taken by his MEP. However you can remind assistants of similiar positions or actions taken in the past which become pressing or require new action. Helping the assistant to save time and consolidating the position of his MEP is the key to a meaningfull working relationship with MEP assistants. At any rate, always make sure you dont waste their time or do anything that jeopardises your working relationship with assistants, because most of the times you can forget about accessing the MEP as well. The Strasbourg week are excellent weeks to meet up with assistants that stay in Brussels. Normally, they are a bit less buissy and have time for a lunch (even though you wont be able to meet in Parliament premisses as brown badges are not allowed entrance during this week).

Organizing an awesome event in Brussels

For your convenience this post is available in a reader-friendly PDF file. 

When I started as an interest representative in Brussels, I had no idea that organizing events and meetings would be such a big part of the job. Indeed, organizing an event is one of the great ways of reaching out to policymakers, introducing your ideas or connecting to the right people. However, organizing an event in Brussels can be stressful to a point that it becomes a nightmare. I have organized numerous meetings and events in Brussels and decided to write this manual so that everyone can now make an awesome event!

Chronology of Actions

Here is a very brief overview of actions you will need to do to organize your event. At the minimum you will need six weeks to organize an event. I have organized succesfull meetings and events within a matter of weeks (my personal record is 7 days), but those were exceptions. If you want to be sure that you have enough time, six weeks is an absolute minimum. First you need to pick a date. Without a date, you can’t arrange anything. After you set the date find a location. Third, work out the concept; will you have a panel discussion or a network event. This concept doesn’t need to be clear from the start. You can fine tune it as you go. After you have the location and date, try to work out most logistics like catering and arranging a moderator. It is usually these things that are left to the end because they seem easy to arrange. This is true, but because they are relatively simple to arrange, deal with them in the beginning so that you don’t have to deal with them in the last minute when you need all your time for crisis-management. Arrange the speakers as soon as possible. Agenda’s fill up quite fast so as soon as you know what your concept is start with approaching speakers. Then deal with invitations. Send a “save the date” as soon as you know the location and time. Send the official invitations, at the minimum three weeks before your event. I personally don’t like to send reminders because they look desperate. When organizing an event in Brussels, I never sent printed invitations. Instead I always used email. Not only is it more cost-efficient, but respondents only had to reply to the email to sign up. Lastly, promote your event.

Setting the date for your event

Picking the date is without doubt the most crucial steps when organizing an event in Brussels. While you will never able to tell with certainty that you have chosen a good date (I think there is no such thing as the perfect date), there are a couple of rules and principles that you need to keep in mind. The European Parliament resided more or less once a month in Strasbourg, so needless to say that you should avoid this week. Another bad week is the so called “constituency weeks”, where Members of the European Parliament go back to their countries to speak to their constituencies. These weeks occur around 6 times a year. In general, forget about organizing something on Fridays. I always avoid organizing things on Friday because most Parliamentarians are gone, and a lot of people in the Brussels bubble leave town. Some say that for the same reason Thursday-evening is a bad day, but my experience is that Thursday evening is perfectly viable. Another thing to take into consideration is that the College of European Commissioners usually gets together on Wednesday. So if you would like to involve a European Commissioner this might be a good day. Ironically this is also the plenary day of the Flemish Parliament, so forget about inviting members of the Flemish Parliament.

Taking all the above into account, it is easy to imagine that there aren’t actually many good dates throughout the year. Maybe only a handful. To make things worse you will not be the only one that is searching for a suitable date. That is why there are some days throughout the year where 10 or 20 different events are organized in one day. Therefore it is very important to know what other events are going on, so that you don’t compete with similar or more pressing events. In October for example there is the regional Open Days where all the European regions organize events. Unless you are a region, this is a terrible week to organize something. Sometimes it is good to organize on a day that everyone else avoids. I organized an event on the day the Commission was presenting its proposal for a multi-annual budget. Since no-one thought this to be a good idea, it was almost the only event of the day.

Location, location, location

Together with the date, having the right location is one of the most important, if not thé most important thing to consider when organizing an event. What location you should have really depends on what kind of event you are organizing. I will start explaining where and why to organize smaller events (10-50 persons), and afterwards will share some insights about bigger events (+100 persons) A breakfast or a lunch meeting are ideal to speak to policymakers while respecting their time. Everyone has to eat at some point in the day, why not mix business and pleasure. One absolute requirement is that it isshort and relevant. If a lunchevent lasts longer that promised you mess up the agendas of the guests, making them regret they signed up for the lunchevent. Breakfast meetings are tricky. In theory they should start before work starts, but actually rarely do. One drawback is that I noticed that stakeholders send their interns and stagairs to attend them. Organizations like the European Policy Center have successful meetings in the early morning, but they have the clout and reputation to pull it off. Here are a couple of places which are ideal to organize lunch or breakfast meetings. The Stanhope hotel is a lovely, posh boutique hotel with a couple of meeting rooms. Rooms like the Wellington serve perfectly for smaller, intimate lunch meeting. If you prefer to have a meeting more closely to the Berlaymont instead of the Parliament. Martin’s Central Park also offers a couple of meeting rooms, and moreover they are also sometimes willing to close certain parts of the Icones Restaurant for groups. Moreover they have a great garden, which can also be used for lunch meetings. Hotel Rennaisance also offers good value for money, moreover it is very nearby the European Parliament. Then there are a couple of options which are not so accessible because you need someone to “get you in”. The European Parliament has a couple of member saloons which are ideal for organizing smaller meetings. However you will need to persuade a MEP to support your event because only MEP’s can reserve space in the European Parliament. The same goes for the Warande. The Warande is a true gem, a lovely space in the heart of Brussels. However since the Warande belongs to the society of Flemish people in Brussels, you need to know someone who is Flemish, and is a member of the society to help you book a room. In my opinion the Warande is a little bit on the expensive side.
When it comes to bigger events, Brussels houses some top notch locations. One of my favorite is Bibliotheque Solvay. It is located very near the Parliament, and in general you don’t need to worry about giving directions as most of the Brussels crowd knows where it is. Bibliotheque Solvay has a rich decor of precious wood, mosaics and stained glass windows, all covered by a large glass roof, which gives it a feel of prestige and luxury. On a similar note is Concert Noble, charm of a location located in the heart of the European quarter, it boasts a beautiful ballroom, giving it a feel of splendor. A bit out of the way is the Claridge. The Claridge is located near Madau and would certainly not be mentioned were it not for their unique Digital Wallpaper, giving you the opportunity to give your presentation on all walls of the venue. Some people like the Museum of Natural Sciences, because it is located near the Parliament, and sitting alongside dinosaurs is something special. However, mind that they oblige you to work with their caterers and moreover charge you also for the chairs people sit on. I personally prefer when venues give me a total price upfront instead that I have to pay for each single service individually. Also a bit out of the way of the European quarter is the Munt, the old Opera House of Brussels. I like the Munt because the location is relatively cheap and moreover quite flexible concerning what you can do with decorations and stuff. If you are organizing something for a young crowd Area 42 is an interesting alternative. It isn’t in the European quarter but the location is very modern and funky and you can really let your creativity run wild. Then there are a couple of public buildings which are also for rent. The Flemish Parliament has some meeting rooms for rent, but also a space for events like the Schelp. And then there is of course the European Parliament. The Yehudi MENUHIN room is usually used when you also have a concert or music during your event. Again, you will need an MEP to get this space. Moreover, because of its popularity and technical requirements, you will need to plan something at least six months up front if you want to organize something in the Yehudi MENUHIN hall.

Logistics-stuff

When organizing an event, you have to think of a lot more than just the location and the date. Re-run in your head all the things that are going to be needed for the event, and what can go wrong. Will people arrive by car or on foot? Will you have to direct them to a parking? Is all the physical infrastructure like chairs and lighting present at the location or will you need to rent something? Personally I have worked with Design4Rent and I am satisfied with their services.  For more practical stuff like stages I worked with Festi. For flowers, I like to work with Schuman Flowers. A lot of people no’t know, but apart from their flower-stand they also deliver for events.

Catering

Whether for the welcome-drink or the network cocktail, when organizing an event, you will have to have some kind of catering. Because there is no catering with which I am 100% satisfied, I decided not to give any suggestion for the time being. But please email me if you have any great suggestions!

Moderator

If you are organizing a bigger event, you might want to hire a moderator or someone who hosts the event. Be aware that this person can make or break your event. I wished I had a list here with good moderators, but it really depends on the event and more importantly on the audience. If you have the budget go for moderators that are famous persons, as this attracts crowd by itself. Another no-brainer is that the person actually knows something about the topic. If the person is passionate about the interest you convey, it will make the event all the much better. In the other extreme if the moderator has no knowledge of the matter at hand, he will make silly mistakes and it will suck out the life of the party.

Arranging speakers

When organizing a public affairs event in Brussels, you will probably arrange some speakers. Some speakers will not have to be arranged because they are either part of your public affairs network or your internal organizations. But if you are asking MEP’s, European Commission officials or other to speak here is some advice, in order to make sure they agree to come, and actually show up. Members of the European Parliament or notorious for cancelling, arriving late and leaving early. To be sure that a MEP agree to come to your event there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, instead if it is an electorate week (green week) MEP’s don’t like to travel. So your event will need to be near the Parliament if not in the Parliament. Secondly, MEP’s don’t like to share the spotlight. Asking more MEP can raise the profile of your event, but it can also be the reason for the cancellation of some MEP’s. So while it is certainly not forbidden, you will have to know how a MEP will react to other MEP’s being present. Time is of course important; don’t organize anything during the actual committee meetings of MEP’s or during voting time. In order to create commitment request for a meeting with the MEP to brief him/her about the event and his or her role in it. Finally, put the MEP in the spotlight. Arrange an interview before or after the event, and make sure that the MEP has his 5 minutes of fame to convey his political message.

Arranging a European Commissionaire is quite tricky. They have little time, and are very picky about what event to go to. In all honesty I have arranged (and failed to arrange) a couple of European Commissionaires, but still I can’t say exactly what was the main reason for my success or failure. Here are some humble tips anyway. Announce to the secretary by telephone that an invitation is coming s coming. This will create a mental note for the secretary or personal assistant. I have had a few instances that I never got a reply. The assistants receive hundreds of emails every day and they will probably forget to respond to one or two. Therefore it is important to make this mental-post it. Make sure that the invitation is relevant to the Commissionaires portfolio. After you have sent the invitation, don’t hesitate to call the secretary again to see if she has received it and to ask when you can expect a reply. After this it is up to the Commissionaire to decide if he wants to come to your event. Of course things like the profile of the event, and the presence of media will help your chances.

Concept

Not to be under-estimated is the concept of your event. 90 % of all the events in Brussels are panel-debates. If you do not invest time, creativity and effort your event run the danger of being remembered as boring. Because in Brussels you operate in a administrative-political environment, there are limitations on what you can do. The Brussels crowd likes to be entertained but not to be humiliated or made fun of. So a moderator can be challenging, but can’t go over the edge. One way it to re-shape your panel debates into something more fun. You can make it look like a TV-show. I heard of a debate inside a boxing-ring. One consultancy sent out invitations in the form of airplaine-boarding tickets. During one event I visited, there was a fashion-show. For this reason, organizers often also give gifts to guest when they leave. At the yearly KPN event guests were given Moleskine notebooks. I operated once on a low budget, but I still wanted to give something as a parting-gift. So we came up with the idea to give Sunflowers to all guests. They absolutely loved it! You need to have this twist to your event to separate it from competing events, and more importantly to be remembered. One of the reasons you are organizing this event is to convey a political message that “sticks”. So you don’t want to organize something that is easily forgotten, or worse; remembered as a failure. 


Promoting your event


Finaly, you will also have to do some promotion of your event. This is not only so you draw more crowd to your event. This is only part of why you prmote your event. By promoting your event, you are also promoting the political message that is enshrined in your event. So no opportunity should be missed to promote both your event as well as your message. I always post my event on the European Agenda. Moreover I use various groups on linkedin. Apart from promotion before the event happens, make sure you also do some after-promotion. This ranges from making a press release to summing up the conclusions of the event. Also you can have a dedicated website with all the fotographs of the event. You can even mention the event months later, in publications or speaches, in order to give it the air of a "landmark" event. You can prmote your event for free in the European Agenda. For me the site is a proven way of reaching the Brussels crowd. If you are Dutch you might also want to put your website on the Agenda of Europa-NU.