The OECD defines 'lobbying' as solicited communication, oral or written, with a public official to influence legislation, policy or administrative decisions and recognizes that although 'lobbying' most often focuses on the legislative branch, it does also occur within the executive and sub-national governments as well, for example by influencing the design of development projects and the award of contracts.

The OECD is currently carrying out new data collection and analysis of the lobbying situation in OECD member and non-member countries. In this regard, the study seeks to gain insight into the rules and guidelines governing lobbying by collecting first hand views from individual public affairs professionals and lobbyists.

While in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina, AALEP has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) respectively with the Croatian Lobbyists Society, the Serbian Lobbyists Society, the Montenegro Lobbyists Society and the Macedonian Lobbyist Center.

Each MOU establishes a framework for both parties to work together in an effort to offer joint seminars and facilitate the exchange of professional expertise in the area of public policy advocacy and lobbying.

The ability to proactively shape debate by directly engaging with the public early on is critical. Of course shaping public debate is easier said than done, and the evolution of debate is hardly linear. It’s messy, complex, grueling, and gets exponentially more difficult for communications to influence as it grows over time. Best then is to influence public opinion before issues become legislative priorities.

Cyprus faces years of economic hardship. The country’s economy is estimated to contract a whopping 13 percent over the next two years. By contrast, Turkey with a population of almost 75 million boasts an annual output of $ 800 billion compared to Cyprus $ 24 billion. The International Monetary Fund predicts Turkey will grow 3.4 percent this year and 3.7 percent next.

In the past six months, questions have arisen about what France is offering in terms of fresh ideas, and how it is dealing with the rest of Europe. To be certain, France has not opted into the market of ideas for a more political Europe and how it could be organized. There's a shrinking presence, a progressive disappearance of France on most issues that concern the economic agenda. Some European diplomats from a range of member states say that France's voice is nowhere to be heard.

In order to enable individuals and entities to develop their competencies to use public policy advocacy tools and mechanisms effectively and raise their awareness of participation in the decision-making process, the delivery of a multi-modular training programme is viewed as a crucial activity.

National sovereignty, sometimes used to mean national independence, has to be viewed against the background of the interdependence of modern states.

Public Policy Advocacy is an increasingly visible and influential feature of every political system around the world, practised by tens of thousands of people. Most Public Policy Advocates are college graduates, and many have advanced degrees. Of these advanced degrees, the most prevalent is legal training, with other common backgrounds being communications, teaching, public relations and journalism.

The European Business Summit (EBS) is Europe's key meeting place for business leaders and decision makers. Every year, the EBS attracts more than 2,000 participants from over 60 countries, European Commissioners, Prime Ministers, high-level officials and about 200 journalists.

The theme of the 2013 summit is "Unlocking Industrial Opportunities- An EU Strategy for Competitiveness". This deals with the challenge of re-industrialisation of Europe and the promotion of competitiveness through innovation.