Brussels, 06/06/2005 (Agence Europe) - Meeting at the European Parliament on 31May by initiative of Athenora Consulting, the French lobbyists to the EU opened up about the role and the image of their profession. France's rejection of the draft constitutional treaty makes the development of a genuine European culture among French lobbies and new strategies to influence the European institutions all the more important, they say. It is worth noting that as part of its initiative for transparency, the Commission has set up an inter-services group to assess the impact of the code of conduct governing its relations with lobbies, and that it is to publish a communication on this subject in September or October.
MEP Françoise Grossetête (EPP-ED, France) called upon the French lobbyists to "develop a genuine European culture" and to "work in depth", "set up networks" and "make sure that their voice is permanently heard". Christian Masset, the deputy permanent representative of France to the EU, said that it was time to "put an end to this obsession with singularity" and listed four key elements of the effective lobbying: respect for the role of all players, "self-confidence", playing the "collective game" and being "open to other people". Christian Masset referred to various notable results of France's presence at the EU: the increased involvement of French MEPs in the European political debate (examples of which are the Reach and the services directive); the active role of the think tanks Confrontations, the French Institute of International Relations and the Robert Schuman Foundation; the 22 French members of cabinets of European Commissioners, the most represented nationality at this level within the Commission. The message is a positive one, said Stéphane Desselas, associate director of Athenora Consulting, "the French are not incapable of practising efficient European lobbying, but they have to overcome the handicaps of a culture which is low on euro-compatibility stakes".
Speaking on behalf of the Society of European Affairs Professionals (SEAP), Catherine Stewart explained that her organisation aimed to promote professionalism in lobbying, because "we have a bad image". The SEAP has developed a code of conduct to which lobbyists sign up personally, which lays down the principles of honesty, transparency and confidentiality, and aims to avoid conflicts of interest and corruption and to respect community rules, in terms of employing staff who have worked in the European institutions.
"Yes to open lobbying", said Benoit Le Bret, chef du cabinet of Jacques Barrot, Commissioner for Transport. Anne Houtman, director of Directorate General on the internal market at the Commission pointed out that "Brussels is the world's second-largest lobbying capital", and that this "recent" development was due in large part to the creation of the internal market and the accession of the United Kingdom in 1973. The Commission only has a "code of conduct", unlike the United States, where relations with lobby groups are "very strictly governed", she noted. Further to pressure from non-governmental organisations (NGOs), Siim Kallas, European Commissioner for administration, set up an inter-services group, which will assess the impact of the Commission's code of conduct as part of its initiative on transparency (EUROPE 8950). Discussions will focus on three major stakes: identifying lobbies, possibly via a specific Commission register; how they are represented, with the identification of their clients and those they represent; their funding, to avoid all conflicts of interest.
What will be the consequences of the rejection of the Constitution by the French people? "The French 'no' weakens us", said Françoise Grossetete. "It will no doubt complicate matters", she added, referring to her own experiences as rapporteur on the proposed regulation on paediatric medicine.