Regional Offices:

Les enjeux liés aux politiques européennes (règlements, instruments, programmes, financements) ont conduit depuis plusieurs décennies les principaux acteurs économiques français à s’implanter à Bruxelles.

The Permanent Representations of the Member States to the EU are an extended arm of their governments. Their main task is to ensure that their country’s interests and policies are pursued as effectively as possible in the EU. An important task of the Permanent Representations is to supply analyses and assessment to their government offices, which are responsible for shaping EU policies. Permanent representations also act as their governments day-to-day communication link with the EU institutions.

On June 27, 2013 Vice-President of the European Commission Mr. Maroš Šefčovič delivered the following remarks on the occasion of the OECD Forum on Transparency and Integrity in Lobbying held in Paris, France.

The operative agency for the 'Europe for Citizens' programmes is the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). While the agency has its own legal entity, it reports to three Directorates-General of the European Commission: Education and Culture (EAC), Communication (COMM) and EuropeAid Cooperation Office.

The respondents to the consultation that led to the establishment of the EU Transparency Register were critical of the negative connotation of the term “lobbying”. For this reason the European Commission adopted the terms respectively of Interest Representation and Interest Representative while pointing out that it did not mean on its part any negative value judgement about "lobbying" and that lobbying activities are imperative from a democratic point of view.

Adoptées le 8 juillet 2009, après avoir fait l'objet de plusieurs réunions de Bureau de l'Assemblée nationale, les règles mises en place pour les représentants d'intérêts, terme préféré à celui de lobbyistes, prévoient que tout représentant d'intérêts publics ou privés (autorités administratives, organismes publics, organisations professionnelles, entreprises privées, sociétés de conseil, associations) figurant sur une liste fixée par le Bureau, peut bénéficier d'un badge ouvrant des droits d'accès au Palais Bourbon.

Since 1972 the German Bundestag publishes a public List of Registered Associations (Öffentliche Liste der registrierten Verbände) along with their representatives. Registration is not manadory. The List provides the name and seat of the association, composition of the board of management and the board of directors, sphere of interests of the association, number of members, names of the association’s representatives, and address of its office at the seat of the Bundestag and of the Federal Government.

2014 va fi un an de referinta in istoria Uniunii Europene, prin faptul ca in cursul lui vor avea loc alegeri in Parlamentul European cu numirea ulterioara a noului Presedinte al Parlamentului European, alegerea Presedintelui Comisiei Europene si numirea ulterioara a noilor comisari, inclusiv a noului Inalt Reprezentant pentru Afaceri Externe si Politici de Securitate si nominalizarea de catre Statele Membre a unui nou Presedinte al Consiliului European.

The EU Transparency Register shows as of 13 March 2013 5,599 Registrants but they are not all based in Brussels. The number of Brussels-based organizations is probably between 4,500 and 5,000. Rather than talking about a total population of 15,000 'lobbyists' it may be more appropriate to talk about 15,000 persons/staff working in the field of public policy advocacy as not all are 'lobbyists' in a professional sense. Actually this figure of 15,000 is probably more in the range of 15,000 to 20,000 taking account activities carried out by non-residents, part-time lobbyists etc.