2023-12-26 13:53:00
Will the fact that Belgium chairs the Council of the European Union from January to June 2024 change anything in terms of lobbying? Probe shot in the middle.
Gaspard Schnitzler (IRIS): “The United States lobbied enormously in Brussels for the F-35”
“Many lobbies are established in Brussels and will inevitably try to exert more influence on the country which has the rotating presidency. This is a significant power. The country decides on the agenda and draws up compromise projects. Lobbyists therefore do more lobbying with the rotating presidency, the current one or the next one, depending on timing and priorities. But don’t be fooled, it doesn’t make much difference that it’s Belgium. In any case, lobbying will mainly take place in Brussels. So when it was the German presidency, lobbyists lobbied the Germans via representation in the European Parliament, here in Brussels,” says Jean Comte, journalist for Contexte, author of the book At the heart of European lobbying (1) .
Note also that the European elections in June 2024 reduce the window of opportunity for lobbyists, because MEPs will have other priorities in the coming months.
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“For a lobbyist, it’s more complicated when this rate is very high.”
”It will be a racing phase yes, because the European Parliament will stop sitting in April, and the negotiations will go very quickly. For a lobbyist, it is more complicated when this rate is very high. But generally they work upstream, if they are good. And generally speaking, lobbying is more effective at the start of the procedure, with the Commission, the Parliament or the Council. Good lobbyists position themselves at this time rather than in the final phase of trilogues (the moment when the three institutions seek to reach a political agreement on a text or a legislative package, Editor’s note),” he adds.
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The Belgian government will clearly be put under pressure, because the negotiations will be done by its ministers
Pressure on the Belgian government
“The fact that it is Belgium will make it easier to mobilize resources, such as unions, the media and public opinion,” says Wilhelm D. (not his real name), a former lobbyist from representation union and energy world who crossed the Rubicon to work within the European institutions. “The Belgian presidency – therefore the Belgian government – will clearly be put under pressure, because the negotiations will be carried out by its ministers, at the end of their mandate, what is more. A European gas lobby will be able to more easily increase pressure on politicians, for example. If European procedures are sometimes disconnected from national processes, here, the media will be able to take advantage of them and popularize them, interest people. All of this combined can make a difference,” he adds.
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“If you are a lobbyist and you have done your job well, you have already started your lobbying well in advance. But if you are left behind, like many lobbyists in reality, you are in trouble”
”If you are a lobbyist and you have done your job well, you have already started your lobbying well in advance. But if you’re in trouble now, like many lobbyists in reality, you’re in trouble,” he comments once more. “Note that major issues were put on the table – migration, technological platforms, AI – during the Spanish presidency. We didn’t think it would be closed or almost. But that’s it, we are in the last phase,” he continues. “But the parliamentary work will be very short. We will have to finish the negotiations in February to be able to adopt a text in April,” he notes.
According to him, the symbolic and political side will therefore take precedence. “This presidency might send a strong political message, in order to pull the rug from under the feet of extremists for example,” he continues.
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“This presidency might send a strong political message, to pull the rug from under the feet of extremists for example.”
Transparency register, a tool that has its limits
If some of the registered lobbyists are NGOs (around 3,600 out of 12,500) without commercial goals, the majority remain lobbyists representing potentially commercial public or private interests.
”I think it’s good but honestly I don’t use it that much. When someone contacts us, I check the site but that’s it. But there is a whole lot of fantasy regarding lobbying. Everyone defends their point of view. And everyone knows it. It remains to be seen how we take things, if we keep a certain perspective,” comments Luc A. (not his real name), a parliamentary assistant in regular contact with lobbyists of all sides.
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“The transparency rule only involves people high in the hierarchy, like ambassadors, even though they are not the most important”
”The transparency rule only involves people high in the hierarchy, such as ambassadors, even though they are not the most important. Most of the work in institutions is done by technical experts, who are not covered by this transparency rule. And these contacts are published in the language of each country, it’s a real mess,” Jean Comte further explains.
”The register is not obligatory but voluntary. However, it is necessary to register to access many things, such as meetings with a European commissioner,” he adds.
“This is an issue which was the subject of intense lobbying”: what does the report on packaging waste adopted by the European Parliament contain
”Budgets must also be included. But there are abuses and largely minimized budgets. We proved this with Atos (French company active in digital services, Editor’s note), which displayed amounts almost 18 times lower than what was actually spent. There is no sanction, it is difficult to control. It’s jolting. There are 10 full-time equivalents to manage and check everything. It is complicated. It is a practical tool but insufficient, even if it is improving,” continues Jean Comte.
”It will be business as usual for good lobbyists. And the elections will limit interest. The pressure will be on especially at the start of the year,” another, more cynical player in the industry tells us in conclusion.
(1) At the heart of European lobbying, Jean Comte, Presses universitaire de Liège, Petite collection MSH, 152 pp. €15
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