Lobbying and Networking in the European Union

In the European Union, networking and lobbying are crucial for businesses and stakeholders when it comes to acquiring information and representing interests. The complexity of the European Union s decision-making processes, as well as its highly diverse national, geographical, cultural, social and economic structure, constitute a particular challenge for professional lobbyists, who work with politicians, members of the business community, and with the social partners.

How do professional lobbyists link information acquisition with political know-how? How do they gather and process information, and how do they pursue goals and interests?

How do the Parliament, Commission and Council assess the influence exerted by lobbyists, and how do they handle it? Finally, in the face of the ever-increasing political relevance of the European Union at home and in the world, how can we keep lobbying responsible, and prevent illegitimate practices such as bribery or nepotism?

These and further questions will be addressed during this seminar by prominent representatives of EU-institutions, interest-groups, as well as Brussels-based lobbyists, by means of concrete examples and case studies. The seminar is geared towards all those working in interest-groups, as well as to journalists and students, and will be conducted in English.