European Policy Centre

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lobbyist

European Policy Centre  link ()
File:European Policy Centre.jpg
Formation	1997
Founders	Stanley Crossick,Max Kohnstamm,John Palmer
Headquarters	Brussels,Belgium
Membership	Herman Van Rompuy, Joaquin Almunia, Lionel Barber, Hendrik Bourgeois, Elizabeth Collett, Marta Dassù, David O'Sullivan, Rachel Barlow, Jim Cloos, Susan Danger, Brigid Laffan, Alexander Stubb, Stefan Schäfers, Nathalie Tocci, Poul Skytte Christoffersen, Jacki Davis, Philippe de Buck, Andrew Duff, Susan Danger, George Pagoulatos, Brigid Laffan, Luc Tayart de Borms, Amazon, BT, Equinor, Johnson & Johnson, METI, Apple, Bain & Company, BASF, Boeing, Burson Cohn & Wolfe, Cambre Associates, Chevron Corporation, DELL, DLA Piper, Dow, Eamonn Bates Europe, ExxonMobil, Facebook, GlaxoSmithKline, Google, Hyundai, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Naftogaz, Oracle, Roche, Siemens, Statkraft, Suez Eaux, Sumitomo, UPS, BusinessEurope, Confederation of British Industry, Confederation of Danish Industry, Confederation of European Paper Industries, Confederation of Finnish Industries, Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers, Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise, Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, Norwegian Shipowners' Association, Technology Industries of Finland, Tobacco Europe, Bertelsmann Stiftung, British Council, Crisis Management Initiative, Egmont Institute, European Cultural Foundation, European Foundation Centre, European Foundation for Democracy, Fondazione Cariplo, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Fundación Fórum Ambiental, German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Hanns Seidel Stiftung, King Baudouin Foundation, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Open Society European Policy Institute, Stiftung Mercator, Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, Council of Europe, EFTA, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, NATO Parliamentary Assembly, UN Development Programme, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, The World Bank, Amnesty International, Caritas Europa, Oxfam, RUSI, The German Marshall Fund of the United States, International Committee of the Red Cross, John Kerr, Jo Leinen, Erika Mann, Lionel Barber, Wolfgang Schüssel, Hendrik Bourgeois, Elizabeth Collett, Catherine Day, Monica Frassoni, Anthony L. Gardner, Heather Grabbe, Shada Islam, Arancha González Laya, Hywel Ceri Jones, Jean Claude Junker, Gerald Knaus, Brigide Laffan, Antonio Missiroli, Anand Menon, Federica Mogherini, Almut Möller, John Palmer, Kristina Persson, Jean-Claude Piris, Janez Potočnik, Jana Puglierin, Conny Reuter, Verena Ringler, Mario João Rodrigues , Dennis Sammut, André Sapir , Wolfgang Schüssel, Daniela Schwarzer, Peter Semneby, Constanze Stelzenmüller, Rita Süssmuth, Paweł Świeboda, Loukas Tsoukalis, Frans van Daele, Jean-Charlesvan den Branden, Guillaume Van der Loo, Jordi Vaquer, Zeger Vercouteren, Ian Davidson (Bilderberger)
A Brussels think tank with excellent connections to EU institutions and top personnel. A number of large companies and business associations use it to influence EU policy. For example, the EPC was exposed as a front organization for a corporate alliance led by the tobacco industry in the 1990s. Other members include the CIA-close German Marshall Fund and Open Society Foundations.

The European Policy Center (EPC) is a Brussels think tank with excellent connections to EU institutions and top personnel. A number of large companies and business associations use it to influence EU policy. For example, the EPC was exposed as a front organization for a corporate alliance led by the tobacco industry in the 1990s.

Partners

Strategic partners are the King Baudoin Foundation, the Mercator Foundation and the Adessium Foundation. Other partners include the German Council on Foreign Relations, the Center for European Reform, the CIA-close German Marshall Fund and Open Society Foundations, RUSI and other national think tanks. It is also part of the Transatlantic Policy Network (TPN).

Lobbying strategy and influence

Among the advantages of membership, the EPC points to the unique access to its network of organizations as well as to EU Commissioners, EU Parliamentarians, high-ranking representatives of EU institutions and international organizations who regularly appear at the events. Through its events and publications, it influences discussions about Europe and the important issues that the EU is facing. The EPC acts as a catalyst for new thinking and new solutions. Many members of the EPC are large companies and influential associations that can contribute their economic interests to the design of a new Europe via the contact options mentioned.

Contacting the EU is also made easier by the fact that former high-ranking representatives of EU institutions are involved in the EPC. For example, the President of the EPC, Herman Van Rompuy, chaired the European Council. Fabio Colasanti, Member of the General Assembly, is a former Director-General of the European Commission. Joaquin Almunia, member of the advisory board as well as the board, was EU competition commissioner. In 2020, the EPC organized around 240 events, due to the lockdowns, mainly online. Furthermore, the EPC 2020 produced 101 publications. In addition, representatives of the EPC met a total of 57 times with members of the European Commission.

History

The EPC was founded in 1997 by Stanley Crossick, Max Kohnstamm and John Palmer. The founding chairman was the lobbyist Stanley Crossick, founder of the Belmont European Community Office and the Belmont European Policy Center, among other things, and senior vice-chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce (EC Committee).

The EPC analyzes developments in the EU and draws up "reform" proposals, which it brings to the attention of representatives of the EU institutions. The main topics mentioned are: "European Politics and Institutions", "European Migration and Diversity", "Europe in the World", "Sustainable Prosperity for Europe", Europe's Political Economy" and "Social Europe & Well-being".

Front organization for the tobacco industry

In the 1990s, an alliance of large companies and business associations enforced that European laws should be examined in advance for their economic costs and that the affected sectors should be consulted in particular. In principle, the course of the European legislative procedure should be designed in such a way that one's own interests are represented as well as possible. The strategic alliance of large companies and trade associations was formed by Lucky Strike manufacturer British American Tobacco (BAT).

In order to increase the credibility of the lobbying campaign, the initiative should not be taken by BAT itself, but by a "front organization" that is as well-known as possible. The European Policy Center (EPC) was selected for this as a Brussels think tank with excellent connections to the EU administration. EPC, in turn, founded the "risk assessment forum" on behalf of BAT, which was intended as a platform for companies that are particularly affected by state regulation. This procedure became known through a study in the medical journal "Public Library of Science" in January 2010. After the publication, EPC said that the EPC had been fundamentally restructured since then.

References

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