Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, including individuals acting as voters, constituents, or private citizens; corporations pursuing their business interests; non-profits and NGOs through advocacy groups to achieve their missions; and legislators or government officials influencing each other in legislative affairs.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is a consultative body of the European Union (EU) established in 1958. It is an advisory assembly composed of representatives from employers' associations, workers' unions and civil society organisations. Its seat, which it shares with the Committee of the Regions, is the Jacques Delors building on Belliardstraat / Rue Belliard 99 in Brussels.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is the major trade union organisation representing workers at the European level. In its role as a European social partner, the ETUC works both in a consulting role with the European Commission and negotiates agreements and work programmes with European employers. It coordinates the national and sectoral policies of its affiliates on social and economic matters, particularly in the framework of the EU institutional processes, including European economic governance and the EU Semester.
A grant is a financial award given by a government entity, foundation, corporation, or other organization to an individual or organization for a specific purpose. Unlike loans, grants do not need to be repaid, making them an attractive source of funding for various activities, such as research, education, public service projects, and business ventures. Examples include student grants, research grants, the Sovereign Grant paid by the UK Treasury to the monarch, and some European Regional Development Fund payments in the European Union.
European Democrat Students (EDS) is a pan-European centre-right student and youth political association, and the official student organisation of the European People's Party. Founded in Vienna by Scandinavian, German and Austrian students in 1961, it represents over 600,000 students and young people in 34 member organisations from 30 countries in Europe and Asia. Its stated goal is to promote a free, democratic and united Europe through a greater student mobility and comprehensive education policies across the continent.
EUROCADRES is the Council of European Professional and Managerial Staff. It is an organisation associated to the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). EUROCADRES is recognised by the European Commission as a European social partner.
The European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises or SMEunited is an umbrella group for associations of SMEs based in Brussels, Belgium. SMEunited represents the interests of European crafts, trades and SMEs at EU level. Its 67 member organisations from 34 European countries consist of national cross-sectorial SME federations, European branch federations and other associate members. Its members combined represent more than 12 million enterprises, which employ around 50 million people across Europe. SMEunited is a recognised European Social Partner.
The European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions is a regional trade union federation representing around 5 million members of independent trade unions in Europe.
The European Confederation of Police (EuroCOP) is the umbrella organization umbrella organisation for 30 police unions and staff organisations in Europe. Representing the interests of over 230,000 police officers in 25 European countries, it was founded in 2002 at a conference in Roskilde, Denmark, emerging from the Union Internationale des Syndicats de Police (UISP), which had existed since 1953. It was created in order to enable further organizations, particularly ones from the United Kingdom, to join. The union's headquarters is in Luxembourg.
The American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union (AmCham EU) is a Belgium-based committee of companies that lobbies in the European Union for US companies and companies with US business ties. It is a member of Amchams in Europe (ACE), an umbrella organization of related committees.
CONCORD, also referred to as CONCORD Europe, is the European confederation of non-governmental organisations working on sustainable development and international development cooperation.
The Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is a non-profit research and campaign group whose declared aim is to "expose any effects of corporate lobbying on EU policy making". It is based in Brussels.
Alber & Geiger is a political lobbying agency and a European-based government relations law firm, lobbying EU institutions in Brussels. The firm has also a litigation practice at the European Court of Justice and has offices in Brussels and Berlin.
Founded in 1982, FoodDrinkEurope is a Food industry confederation in the European Union. It was formed by 26 national food-related federations, including 3 observers, 25 EU sector associations, and 19 major food and drink companies, all grouped in a Liaison Committee.
Ibec is an Irish business representative lobbying organisation and human resources services provider.
Relations between the European Union and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) were established in 1975 as part of the Euro-Arab Dialogue. The EU is a member of the Quartet and is the single largest donor of foreign aid to the Palestinian Authority.
The European Consumer Organisation, from the French name Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs, "European Bureau of Consumers' Unions") is an umbrella consumers' group, founded in 1962. Based in Brussels, Belgium, it brings together 45 European consumer organisations from 32 countries.
The banking lobby refers to the representatives from various firms and organizations seeking favorable terms from governments for big banks and other financial service companies through lobbying and advocacy groups.
A Lobby Registry, also named Lobbyist Registry, Register for Lobby Transparency or Registry of Lobbyists is a public database, in which information about lobbying actors and key data about their actions can be accessed.
Lobbying in the European Union, also referred to officially as European interest representation, is the activity of representatives of diverse interest groups or lobbies who attempt to influence the executive and legislative authorities of the European Union through public relations or public affairs work. The Treaty of Lisbon introduced a new dimension of lobbying at the European level that is different from most national lobbying. At the national level, lobbying is more a matter of personal and informal relations between the officials of national authorities, but lobbying at the European Union level is increasingly a part of the political decision-making process and thus part of the legislative process. 'European interest representation' is part of a new participatory democracy within the European Union. The first step towards specialised regulation of lobbying in the European Union was a Written Question tabled by Alman Metten, in 1989. In 1991, Marc Galle, Chairman of the Committee on the Rules of Procedure, the Verification of Credentials and Immunities, was appointed to submit proposals for a Code of conduct and a register of lobbyists. Today lobbying in the European Union is an integral and important part of decision-making in the EU. From year to year lobbying regulation in the EU is constantly improving and the number of lobbyists is increasing.
