AALEP Chair (Mr. Christian D. de Fouloy) has been invited by the European Commission to serve as Expert on the occasion of an event organized within the Technical Assistance Information Exchange Instrument of the European Commission (TAIEX) in cooperation with the Montenegrin Ministry of Justice/Directorate for Anti-Corruption Initiative and RACVIAC-Centre for Security Cooperation that will take place in Podgorica, Montenegro on 05-06 June 2013.

The definition of Public Policy Advocacy and Public Policy Advocates is a complex issue. From our perspective, the definition should be simple and capture the widest possible range of public policy advocacy activities: A Public Policy Advocate is anyone paid to (i) arrange or facilitate contact with officials; (ii) communicate with officials to influence legislation, regulation, or government policy, and for government contracts and grants; and (iii) work in support of (i) and/or (ii).

Increasingly for many multinational firms, the engagement of outside lobbyists is considered a high risk contract. Anytime an outside lobbyist engages in lobbying activity on behalf of a company, it may trigger certain registration requirements for the company and/or reporting obligations. So increasingly companies want to make certain that the lobbyists they hire are in compliance with all applicable laws and reporting requirements.

For getting the European Union back on track, the decision-making role of member states' governments should be recognized as a fundamental condition for the existence and the functioning of the EU. It is not accidental that the European Council has emerged as the main decision-making of the EU and its president as a more influential actor than the Commission's president. One can assume that, there being no prohibitions in this respect in the Lisbon Treaty, the future evolution of the EU will eventually lead to a re-composition of the two presidencies in a single person.

The Euro Zone has revealed the reform need of Europe and there is a need for a radical change. The present crisis will shape Europe again. The Euro crisis points to an important break in terms of the building of Europe with unstable structure and to a new construction process. The main problem lies in the economical integration/political paradox which is a structural problem resulting from the euro zone structure rather than the irresponsible policies of the member states.

The speech below was prepared for the Public Affairs Community in Europe's (P.A.C.E.) meeting to be held this year in on 23-24 May in Paris, France and organized by the A.F.C.L. (Association Française des Conseils en Lobbying). 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

France entered a shallow recession in the first three months of the year as the economy contracted by 0.2% because of weak exports, investment and household spending, preliminary data from the INSEE statistics agency are showing.

The ability of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to monitor a government's activities and to hold authorities accountable hinges on several factors- their internal capacity and the political environment in which they operate.

Civil society's ability to serve as a check and stabilize influence on a state depends on its capacity to successfully innovate and establish productive working relationship with the government.

Lobbying is a reality in modern democracies and a growing business. While it can improve the quality of public decisions by providing expert information, lobbying may also result in vast influence by powerful interests at the expenses of the public interest. To help address growing concerns, in 2010 OECD countries adopted Principles for Transparency and Integrity in Lobbying as guidance to decision-makers on how to promote good governance in lobbying.

Foeign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina- Institute for Education held a Seminar on 8 May 2013 entitled: Perception of lobbying into business, public and construction sector- Experiences of the countries in the Region.