• Bond guide to
Influencing the
European Union
Tables of contents
Introduction
List of acronyms
3
SECTION 1
EU at a glance
3
The EU’s role in the developing world
4
ACP
Africa, Caribbean and Pacific States
AU
African Union
BERR
UK Department for Business Enterprise and
Regulatory Reform (UK)
CFSP
Common Foreign and Security Policy
CODEV
Council Working Group on Development
COREPER Committee of Permanent Representatives
SECTION 2
The Council of the European Union
6
The European Parliament
9
The European Commission
12
Influencing the Co-decision Legislative Procedure
15
CSPs
Country Strategy Papers
DCI
Development Cooperation Instrument
DEFRA
Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (UK)
DFID
Department for International Development (UK)
DG
Directorate General
DG DEV
Directorate General for Development
DG RELEX Directorate General for External Relations
Useful contacts
18
EC
European Community
ECHO
European Commission Humanitarian Aid
Department
EP
European Parliament
EU
European Union
FCO
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (UK)
MEP
Member of the European Parliament
PQs
Parliamentary Questions
TEU
Treaty on European Union (Maastricht Treaty)
UKREP
UK Permanent Representation to the
European Union
This guide was prepared by Costanza De Toma for Bond.
Bond is the UK membership body for non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) working in international development
and has over 330 members.
Bond promotes, supports, represents and, on occasion, leads
the work and interests of the UK international development
sector.
It does this through the exchange of experience, ideas and
information and by supporting members to strengthen the
quality and effectiveness of the sector.
This guide was written in 2009 and reflects the institutional
landscape of the European Union in 2009. At the time of
writing, it had still not been decided whether the Lisbon treaty
would be adopted.
Published in October 2009.
Copyright Bond
Regent’s Wharf, 8 All Saints Street, London, N1 9RL
Front cover images (left to right): EU umbrella ©
Panos, EU Commission © Georgia Newsam/Bond,
Protestors in Cairo © Ben Hubbard/IRIN.
Introduction
The EU at a glance
This guide will provide the reader with a comprehensive
understanding of how to influence the European Union’s (EU)
international development policies. It contains an overview of
the three main EU institutions and tips regarding how they can
be influenced. It contains practical case studies which provide
the reader with concrete examples of civil society actions
which have achieved change at EU level. There is also a
resource section with useful contact in the UK and in the EU.
With 27 member states, and a population of nearly half a
billion, the European Union is the largest development aid
donor and provider of humanitarian assistance globally. It is
also the largest single market and the main trading partner for
most developing countries.
The guide is primarily aimed at development professionals in
the UK, but will also be a useful reference document for other
parts of civil society in the UK and in other EU countries who
aim to influence EU policies.
Figure 1 member states of the European Union
Bond guide to Influencing the European Union 3
The EU at a glance
The EU’s role in the
developing world
What is the difference between the EU and
the EC?
Why is EU aid significant?
The terms EC (European Community) and EU (European
Union) are not synonymous. The European Union was
established by the Treaty on European Union (TEU), also
known as the Maastricht Treaty, in 1992. The TEU created a
new structure with three distinct domains, or ‘pillars’. The first
pillar is what is commonly referred to as the ‘Community
Pillar’; the second pillar comprises the Common Foreign and
Security Policy (CFSP); the third pillar covers co-operation in
the fields of justice and home affairs. The ‘Community Pillar’ is
at the heart of the EU and represents the supra-national level.
This means that decision-making competencies of the
member states are taken over jointly by the Council of
Ministers and the European Parliament and result in EU
legislation (by qualified majority voting). The other two pillars
are inter-governmental. This means that any Council decision
has to be unanimous. It can therefore be blocked by the veto
of any one country.
The EU – including the EC and the member states – provides
almost 60% of the world’s Official Development Assistance,
totalling €47 billion in 2009. The European Commission alone
is the world’s fourth largest donor spending US$11.7 billion in
2007. A total of €22.6 billion of EU development aid is
projected be spent between now and 2013 on African,
Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries through the European
Development Fund (EDF), which is a fund set up already in
1957 to provide aid to countries and regions that have been
former colonies or have very close links to EU member states.
In 2005, the EU pledged to increase its aid from 0.39% of
Gross National Income (GNI) in 2006 to an interim collective
target of 0.56% of GNI by 2010, in order to achieve the 0.7%
target, set by the UN, by 2015. Besides quantitative targets,
the EU has also committed to improving aid quality and
effectiveness.
Figure 2 Pillars of the European Union
What thematic issues come under the ‘three pillars’?
THE EUROPEAN UNION
PILLAR 1
SUPRA-NATIONAL
PILLAR 2
INTER-GOVERNMENTAL
PILLAR 3
INTER-GOVERNMENTAL
European Community
(EC, EURATOM, ECSC)
Common Foreign and Security
Policy (CFSP)
Police and Judicial Cooperation
in Criminal Matters (JPCC)
• Economic and monetary affairs
Foreign Policy
• Co-operation in penal matters
• Agriculture
• Political co-operation
• Police co-operation
• Visa requirements
• Election monitoring
• Fight against drug trafficking and weapons
• Asylum and immigration
• European Rapid Reaction Force smuggling
• Transport • Conflict prevention and peace keeping • Fight against organised crime
• Taxation • Human rights
• Fight against terrorism
• Employment
• Democracy
• Fight against trafficking of human beings
• Trade
• Foreign aid and abuse of children
• Social welfare • Fight against racism and xenophobia
• Education and youth welfare
Security Policy
• Culture
• European Security and Defence
• Consumer protection and health Policy (ESDP)
• Industry
• European battle groups
• Economic and social cohesion
• Demobilisation and disarmament
• Research and technology
• European security strategy
• Environment
• Development & Humanitarian Aid
4 Bond guide to Influencing the European Union
What are the guiding aims of the EU
development co-operation?
Articles 177 to 181 of the TEU provide the binding legal basis
for EC development co-operation. These articles cover four
fundamental principles guiding EC development efforts:
1. Poverty reduction
2. Co-ordination and complementarity between the
European Community and the member states
3. Co-operation between the European Community and
member states with regard to commitments in the context
of United Nations
4. Coherence between the EC’s development objectives and
its external policies which are likely to affect developing
countries
What is the European Consensus for
Development?
Signed in 2005, the European Consensus for Development
set out, for the first time in 50 years of development cooperation, a common framework of objectives, values and
principles that the Union – all member states and the
Commission – supports and promotes.
What is the Cotonou Agreement?
Signed in June 2000, The Cotonou Agreement is a treaty
between the EU and the group of 79 African, Caribbean and
Pacific (ACP) countries guiding relations between the two
blocs until 2020. The Cotonou Agreement is a comprehensive
partnership covering development, trade and political
domains. Its main aims are to:
• Reduce poverty
• Enhance the political dimension and promote political
dialogue
• Include non-state actors in aid policy
• Reinforce economic and trade partnerships
• Improve financial co-operation
Aid to the ACP countries represents the single largest EC aid
programme. It is funded through the European Development
Fund. Grants towards development programmes are defined
on a country by country basis in national Country Strategy
Papers (CSPs), which are instruments for guiding, managing
and reviewing EC assistance programmes at national level.
Principles of the Cotonou Agreement
The European Consensus on Development covers all
developing countries and its overarching objective is poverty
eradication. Priority is given to least developed countries and
other low-income countries, with a special focus on Africa.
The framework also covers EU commitments on more
effective delivery of aid, better coherence among EU policies
and clearly lays out areas of EC comparative advantage over
the member states.
The Consensus is meant to, for the first time, guide both
member states’ bilateral efforts and EU activity in the field of
development aid. Since the Consensus is both a European
Community and a member state responsibility, both can be
held to account for the commitments included in it.
1. Equality of partners and ownership of
development strategies: in principle it is up to
ACP countries to determine how they should
develop
2. Participation: in addition to the central
government, partnership is open to other non-state
actors including civil society organisations
3. Dialogue and mutual obligations: the signatories
assume mutual obligations (e.g. respect of human
rights) which are monitored through continuous
dialogue and evaluation
4. Differentiation and regionalisation: cooperation
agreements vary according to each partner’s level
of development, needs, performance and longterm development strategy
Bond guide to Influencing the European Union 5
The EU’s role in the
developing world
The EU’s institutions and
how to influence them
What is the role of the EU in Africa?
The Council of the European Union
EU relations with African states are guided by the Africa-EU
Strategic Partnership. Agreed at the EU-Africa Summit in
December 2007, the partnership defines the long-term policy
orientations between Africa and Europe, based on a shared
vision and common principles. Central to the partnership is
the aim to foster political dialogue between the EU and the
African Union (AU) in order to strengthen relations between the
two continents. The partnership also centres on a joint effort
to realise the Millennium Development Goals in Africa by 2015.
The strategy comprises eight partnership areas:
What is the role of the Council of the European Union?
• Peace and security
The Council is the main legislative and decision-making
institution in the EU. It represents the interests of the 27
member states in the EU.
Figure 3 Council functions
The Council is the main legislative and decision-making
institution in the EU. It represents the interests of the 27
member states in the EU.
• Democratic governance and human rights
Co-ordinates
member state
economic policies
• Trade, regional integration and infrastructure
• Millennium Development Goals
• Energy
• Climate change
• Migration, mobility and employment
Legislative
body
• Science, information society and space
Co-ordinates
police and judicial
co-operation
Council
functions
Shared
budgetary
authority
Co-ordinates
police and judicial
co-operation
Foreign policy
control
6 Bond guide to Influencing the European Union
1. Legislative body: the Council decides on proposals by
the European Commission. This function is shared with
the European Parliament through the Co-decision
legislative procedure.
2. Co-ordinates broad economic policies of member
states
The heads of EU States and governments and the President
of the European Commission meet at least once per
presidency to set political priorities, establish broad guidelines
and set the agenda. These are known as European Council
meetings, but they are also sometimes referred to as
“Summit” meetings.
3. Concludes international agreements
Council ‘Configurations’
4. Budgetary authority: this is shared with the European
Parliament
• Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN)
5. Common Foreign and Security Policy (Pillar 2): the
Council takes all decisions necessary for framing and
implementing the EU’s Common Foreign and Security
Policy.
• Justice and Home Affairs (JHA);
6. Police and judicial co-operation in judicial matters
(Pillar 3): co-ordinates the activities of member states and
adopts measures in the field of police and co-operation on
judicial matters.
• Environment
• Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer
Affairs (EPSCO)
• Transport, telecommunications and energy
• Agriculture and Fisheries
How is the Council organised?
• Competitiveness
The Council is composed of ministers of the governments of
each member state of the EU. The presidency of the Council
is held by each member state for six months on a rotating
basis. This means that for any year the presidency will be held
by one member state from 1 January to 30 June and by
another State during the second half of the year, ending on 31
December. The presidency organises and manages the
Council’s business. It is seen as a mechanism through which
the member states can advance specific issues.
Council meetings are attended by ministers from the 27
member states. Which Ministers attend a meeting depends on
which topic is on the agenda. If foreign policy is to be
discussed, it will be the Foreign Affairs Minister from each
country that will travel to Brussels to attend. If agriculture is on
the agenda then it will be the Minister for Agriculture, and so
on. There are nine different Council “configurations” covering
all the different EU policy areas (see opposite).
The preparatory work for Council meetings is done by the
Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER).
Permanent Representatives are like member states’
“Ambassadors” to the EU. They reside in Brussels and they
head the member states’ Permanent Representations (like
“Embassies”) to the EU. Staffed by civil servants from the
member states, Permanent Representations are meant to
represent and convey national interests in Council discussions.
COREPER meetings are in turn prepared by several thematic
Council Working Groups. These are composed of staff
members from all the Permanent Representations and meet
weekly in Brussels.
• Education, youth and culture
• General Affairs and External Relations (GAERC)
Figure 4 Composition of the Council
Heads of State
Ministers
Coreper
Working groups
Bond guide to Influencing the European Union 7
The EU’s institutions and
how to influence them
Who works on development at the Council?
The most relevant Council to international development issues
is the General Affairs and External Relations Council
(GAERC). This is attended monthly by Foreign Affairs
Ministers from the member states. The GAERC is responsible
for (a) common Foreign and Security Policy, (b) European
Security and Defence Policy, (c) Trade, (d) development
co-operation and (e) Humanitarian Policy. Development
ministers meet every six months for an “informal
Development Council” held in Brussels.
Like with all Council meetings, COREPER is responsible for
preparing GAERC and informal Development Council
meetings. The most relevant Council Working Groups that
feed into COREPER ahead of GAERC meetings are the
Development Co-operation Working Group (CODEV) and
the ACP Working Group.
How can the Council be influenced?
Given that the Council represents the interests of member
states at the EU, in order to influence decision-making
processes at the Council it is best to begin at the national
level. It may be useful to know that Permanent
Representatives sitting on COREPER and Working Group
officials agree their positions with their own national
governments. So, even if your organisation doesn’t have an
office in Brussels or you don’t have the capacity to engage in
front-line advocacy in Brussels, you can still put your views
and recommendations across to decision-makers in your own
government.
In the UK, the Department for International Development
(DFID) has overall responsibility for development related
issues dealt with at the EU level. This responsibility is shared
primarily with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) as
well as with other government departments including the
Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA),
the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory
Reform (BERR), and the Treasury.
DFID should be the first point of contact for anyone wanting to
influence the Council on development. Within DFID, the
Europe Department has overall responsibility for relations
with the EU. The Europe Department holds quarterly meetings
with the Bond EU Policy Group. This is open to any Bond
member who wishes to influence the EU. Depending on what
specific development related issue you wish to influence the
EU on, you may also consider engaging in dialogue directly
with other DFID thematic teams as well as other governmental
departments. Bond and DFID’s Europe Department also
broker occasional cross-government meetings to discuss
topical issues on the Council’s agenda.
If you do have capacity to travel to Brussels, or you have
offices there, it is well worth meeting with the UK Permanent
Representative and getting to know the officials at the UK
Permanent Representation (UKREP) who are responsible
for international development and sit on the relevant Working
Groups at the Council.
Keeping informed
• The press room of the Council:
http://ue.eu.int/showPage.aspx?lang=EN&id=1
• The Presidency website: Each presidency will
have its own dedicated website where you can find
all the information on upcoming meetings including
the General Affairs and External Relations Council,
and the Informal Development Council.
• CONCORD: the pan-European confederation of
development NGOs, keeps track of upcoming
Presidencies’ priorities – go to
www.concordeurope.org
• A list of Member States’ Permanent
Representations in Brussels: http://europa.eu/
whoiswho/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=idea.
hierarchy&nodeid=3780& lang=en
• Staff at the UK Permanent Representation:
http://europa.eu/whoiswho/public/index.cfm?
fuseaction=idea.hierarchy&nodeID=4500&lang=en
8 Bond guide to Influencing the European Union
The European Parliament
How is the European Parliament organised?
What is the role of the European Parliament?
The European Parliament (EP) is composed of 736 Members
elected in the 27 EU member states. The Parliament meets in
plenary every month in Strasbourg (France). Each plenary
session is four days long. ‘Mini sessions’ (only two days long)
are also held in Brussels six times a year.
As the only directly elected body of the EU, the European
Parliament (EP) represents the citizens of Europe. The
European Parliament has been elected through direct
universal suffrage since 1979. European elections are held
every five years.
Figure 5 Powers of the European Parliament
European
Parliament
Powers
Budgetary
power
Supervisory
power
Legislative
power
The European Parliament has three main powers:
1 Legislative power: legislating on an equal footing with the
Council in a large number of areas through the codecision legislative procedure (Pillar 1) – including
Development.
2 Budgetary power: the European Parliament holds the
‘purse strings’. It has the final say in the adoption of the
Union’s annual budget, which has become an increasingly
significant tool to assert the Parliament’s political priorities.
3 Supervisory powers: the European Parliament has
democratic oversight through the formation of committees
of inquiry or the submission of oral and written questions.
It also has the power to approve the President of the
European Commission, as well as to appoint or dismiss
the entire college of 27 Commissioners.
Although Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are
elected on a national basis, they are organised – and sit in –
political rather than national groups based on party affiliation.
There are seven political groups at the European Parliament
(see opposite). MEPs spend two weeks each month in
Committee meetings (in Brussels). One week is devoted to
meetings of the political groups (in Brussels). Four weeks each
year can be used by MEPs for work in their own
constituencies. The president of the Parliament is elected for a
2.5 year term.
In order to prepare the work of the Parliament’s plenary
sessions, parliamentary committees are organised
according to specific areas of engagement of the EU. There
are 20 in all but the European Parliament can also set up
sub-committees (, e.g. human rights as part of Foreign Affairs
Committee) and temporary committees (e.g., climate change).
Each Committee is chaired by a chairperson, four vicechairpersons and its work is supported by its own
secretariat, which is composed of European Parliament civil
servants. Each political group represented on a Committee
has a co-ordinator. Each co-ordinator plays a leading role
among MEPs from their own political group co-ordinating
MEPs’ voting at both committee and plenary levels.
Committees meet once or twice a month in Brussels. Their
debates are held in public. Committees draw up, amend and
adopt legislative proposals and own-initiative reports.
Political Groups at the European Parliament
• Group of the European People’s Party (Christian
Democrats) and European Democrats
• Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and
Democrats
• Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for
Europe
• Group of the Greens / European Free Alliance
• Confederal Group of the European United Left
– Nordic Green Left
• European Conservatives and Reformists
• Europe of Freedom and Democracy
Bond guide to Influencing the European Union 9
The EU’s institutions and
how to influence them
Who works on development at the European
Parliament?
How can I raise awareness of my issue at the European
Parliament?
The Committee on Development at the European Parliament
is responsible for (a) handling communications and proposals
from the European Commission, (b) drafting own-initiative
reports on development issues, (c) supervising the EC Aid
budget and the Cotonou Agreement, and (d) MEPs on the
Committee may participate in missions to third countries (e.g.
for electoral monitoring).
Besides directly inputting to the legislative process, MEPs may
also help raise awareness of specific issues at the European
Parliament. MEPs can table oral and written parliamentary
questions which can serve the purpose of either obtaining
detailed information from the European Commission or the
Council (written parliamentary questions) or making public
political statements (oral parliamentary questions).
Other parliamentary committees relevant to international
development issues might be the Foreign Affairs Committee
(comprising the sub-committee on human rights), the
Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee, the
International Trade Committee and the Budgets Committee.
MEPs can support awareness-raising activities, such as for
instance public hearings on topical development issues in
Committees. External experts, including NGO representatives,
can be invited to present to MEPs on the topic of the hearing.
Proposals for public hearings may also come from committee
secretariats. It is advisable to meet with the senior officials on
the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Committee that is most
relevant to you in order to raise awareness of your issues and
secure their support.
What can MEPs do for me?
It should not be forgotten that MEPs are democratically
elected in their own countries. Like UK Members of
Parliament, MEPs are accountable to their constituencies at
home. All MEPs have offices in Brussels, Strasbourg and in
their own constituencies where they can be contacted by
members of the public. It is advisable to concentrate on UK
MEPs as they will be the most receptive to UK voices.
Legislative proposals originating at the European Commission
are considered by the European Parliament and the Council
through a legislative procedure known as co-decision (see
later section for a detailed explanation of co-decision). MEPs
have the power to amend any Commission legislative
proposal by tabling and voting on amendments both at the
committee level and in plenary. Most MEPs will be open to
tabling amendments drafted by reputable and trusted external
actors (including NGOs) with whom they have been in contact.
You can also raise awareness of your issues with MEPs
through exhibitions (e.g. photographic), events (e.g. report
launches) and informal lunches at the European Parliament.
Like with All-Party Groups, the UK MEPs may also belong to
informal thematic interest groups, called ‘Intergroups’. These
are officially registered at the European Parliament. Secretariat
services to Intergroups are mostly provided by external actors,
including NGOs.
Top tips for influencing MEPs
• Target UK MEPs
• Try to win over their assistant
• Find out what they are interested in Meet them
face to face
• Use clear messages and ‘killer’ facts or statistics
• Provide concise, relevant, to the point information
(maximum of one page) with clear advice on what
you would like them to do for you (e.g. support a
specific amendment)
• Share ‘cutting edge’ relevant research/reports
• Always be available
• Tailor your messages to their interests and political
and personal beliefs
• Never try to impose your views
• Establish yourself as the expert
10 Bond guide to Influencing the European Union
CASE STUDY:
CHRISTIAN AID ‘STOP EPAs!’ CAMPAIGN
Christian Aid has been influencing the EU’s
negotiations with African Caribbean and Pacific
countries for free trade agreements (Economic
Partnership Agreements, or EPAs) from their early
stages. We recognised in early 2002 that EPAs could
be catastrophic for poor people in poor countries, and
were encouraged by Southern partners to influence
the outcome. Initially we and partners researched the
likely impact, then used the results to lobby the British
Government as a key EU member state as well as
working with NGOs across Europe to influence the
Commission and Council, and supporting Southern
partners in their regional networks. We have largely
worked in collaboration with other NGOs, and EPAs
were one of the main demands of Make Poverty
History in 2005.
Throughout the negotiations, we aimed ultimately to
influence the Council, responsible for the negotiating
mandate, though the Commission as negotiator was
also important. We identified a range of MEP allies
who promoted our partners’ concerns, but had no
formal role until EPAs reached the stage of needing
Parliament’s assent. At that point we obtained a
public statement of concern by a large number of
MEPs, tabled amendments to Committee reports,
and met with key individual MEPs, with the aim of
preventing EPAs receiving assent without substantial
alterations.
Parliament has nevertheless begun the assent
process. EPAs remain potentially very damaging, but
we have achieved some improvements to the original
proposals, including on timescales for liberalisation,
and the exclusion of certain issues. Verdict: definitely
worth the effort!
Keeping informed
The website of the European Parliament, www.
europarl.europa.eu, provides all the information you will
need to inform your advocacy work with MEPs. There
you will find links to:
• MEPs individual pages with contact details and
information on parliamentary questions and reports
• Political Groups pages with information on
political co-ordinators on all parliamentary
committees, for instance:
– Group of European Socialists:
www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu
– European People’s Party and European
Democrats:
www.epp-ed.eu
– Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe:
www.alde.eu/
• European Parliament Committees home pages
with detailed information on mandates, members
and work programmes, for instance:
– Development Committee:
www.europarl.europa.eu/activities/committees/
homeCom.do?language=&body=DEVE
– Foreign Affairs Committee:
www.europarl.europa.eu/activities/committees/
homeCom.do?language=&body=AFET
• European Parliament online press service:
www.europarl.europa.eu/news/public/default_en.
htm?language=EN
• European Parliament plenary sessions including
agendas: www.europarl.europa.eu/eplive/public/
default_en.htm?language=EN
Bond guide to Influencing the European Union 11
The European Commission
What is the role of the European
Commission?
How is the European Commission
organised?
The European Commission is the driving force of the
European Union. It is the main executive body of the EU and it
has five main functions (see fig.6 below):
The European Commission is headed by a President. The
President of the Commission is selected by the European
Council every five years and must be approved by the
European Parliament.
1. It is the only EU body with the right of initiative to make
legislative proposals to the Council and the Parliament
2. As the guardian of the EU Treaties, it ensures that
European legislation is correctly applied by member states
and other actors. In order to do this it has investigative
powers and can take legal action against persons,
companies, or any member states that violate EU rules
3. It is in charge of managing the EU’s resources
4. It represents the EU on the international stage
(e.g. International trade negotiations or development
conferences, or accession negotiations)
5. It is responsible for the implementation of legislation, as
mandated by the Council
Figure 6 European Commission functions
Guardian of
the treaties
Right of
initiative
European
Commission
functions
Manages
EU resources
Responsible
for implementation
of EC law
Represents the
EU on international
stage
12 Bond guide to Influencing the European Union
The members of the European Commission are called
European Commissioners. There are currently 27
Commissioners, one from each member state.
Commissioners are selected by the President of the
Commission from lists of candidates put forward by member
states. These must then be approved by the Council and the
European Parliament. The Commissioners act in the Union’s
interest, independently of the national governments that
nominated them. Each Commissioner is responsible for a
specific ‘portfolio’ (e.g. development co-operation and
humanitarian aid). The College of Commissioners – all 26
Commissioners plus the President – meet once a week in
Brussels to discuss and approve proposals and in order to
plan ahead.
The Commission’s administrative staff (around 20,000) is
based mainly in Brussels and it is divided among 26
Directorates-General (DG), or departments. Each DG covers
a specific portfolio under a specific Commissioner. DGs are
headed by a Director-General, like a CEO. Director-Generals
report to the relevant Commissioner, who can be responsible
for one or more DGs.
The European Commission is represented in countries outside
the European Union in the form of Delegations. There are
over 130 European Commission Delegations and Offices
around the world, which act not only as the eyes and ears of
the Commission in their host countries but also as its
mouthpiece towards the authorities and the public.
Who works on development at the European
Commission?
The EU bodies responsible for external relations are commonly
known as the external services. The Commissioners who are
responsible for the external services are also informally
referred to in Brussels as the “Relex Family”. Relex is short
for external relations in French (see fig.7, right).
Figure 7
The “Relex Family” of European Commissioners
Commissioner for
External Relations
Commissioner for
Development
Commissioner for
External Trade
Commissioner for
Enlargement
Foreign Policy
Development Policy
External Trade
Enlargement
Neighbourhood Policy
Humanitarian Aid
External Co-operation
Programmes/EUROPEAID
EC Delegations
DG Development
DG External Relations
The Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid is
responsible for the Directorate General for Development (DG
Development), which aims “to help to reduce and ultimately
eradicate poverty in the developing countries through the
promotion of sustainable development, democracy, peace
and security”. DG Development is tasked with, (a) initiating
and drafting development policy, (b) coordinating political
relations and drafting cooperation strategies with Africa,
Caribbean and Pacific states (ACP) and the overseas
countries and territories of the EU, and (c) coordinating and
monitoring development funding provided through the
European Development Fund (EDF) and the Development
Cooperation Instrument (DCI) of the EU budget.
The Commissioner for External Relations is responsible for the
Directorate General for External Relations (commonly referred
to in Brussels as DG RELEX). Key responsibilities of DG
External Relations include, (a) coordinating the Commission’s
external relations, (b) managing all aid to non-member
countries (through EuropeAid), (c) managing EC Delegations,
(d) the Common Foreign and Security Policy, (e) human rights
and democratisation, and (f) managing relations with the UN
and NATO. They also have the lion’s share of the European
Commission’s responsibility towards developing countries.
Geographically, they are responsible for relations with
countries in the Southern Mediterranean, the Middle East,
Latin America and Asia. They also cover relations with the
New Independent States (NIS), Mongolia, China and Korea.
Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO)
EuropeAid (also known as DG AIDCO)
Also under the Commissioner for Development and
Humanitarian aid, ECHO’s mission is “to provide emergency
assistance and relief to the victims of natural disasters or
armed conflict outside the European Union”. Since 1992,
when ECHO was first established, it has funded humanitarian
aid in more than 85 countries. Its grants cover emergency aid,
food aid and aid to refugees and displaced persons worth a
total of more than €700 million per year.
EuropeAid is under the responsibility of the Commissioner for
External Relations. Established in 2001, EuropeAid’s role is to
manage all EC aid. They are also responsible for the
implementation of EC funded development co-operation
projects and programmes and have oversight of the entire
project cycle from identification to implementation and
evaluation.
DG Trade
The Commissioner for Trade is responsible for the Directorate
General for Trade. DG Trade conducts the EU’s trade policy
ensuring the Union’s commercial and economic interests are
secured. The Commissioner for Trade is ultimately responsible
for dealing with the development related dimensions of trade.
Bond guide to Influencing the European Union 13
The European Commission
Who can I influence at the European
Commission?
The European Commission is the most important institution to
focus on if you want to be involved in policy-making at the EU
from the start. It is essential to keep track of the Commission’s
intentions in your area of interest. Even before a legislative
proposal is drafted, the European Commission may publish
consultative documents (green papers, white papers and
communications), it may conduct open consultations, hold
hearings, workshops, conferences, seminars, set up Expert
Groups or commission studies by external consultants.
It is administrative officials at the European Commission
who are tasked with drafting legislative proposals. These
officials are generally open to external advice and input at the
drafting stage. The earliest this happens the better. It pays to
familiarise yourself and build a solid relationship based on
mutual respect and trust with key Commission officials
working in your area. Sharing any new intelligence, research
and reports on your issues will help establish you and your
organisation as experts in the eyes of the European
Commission.
In order to raise awareness of your issues and mobilise
support more broadly at the European Commission you may
also wish to target relevant Heads of Unit, Director Generals
and Commissioners.
Expert Groups
Expert Groups are consultative bodies comprising
national, private-sector and civil society experts on a
specific issue/theme or policy area. The main task of
Expert Groups is to advise the Commission and its
services in the preparation of legislative proposals and
policy initiatives as well as in its tasks of monitoring
and coordination or cooperation with the Member
States. These groups can be either permanent or
temporary.
14 Bond guide to Influencing the European Union
CASE STUDY:
EUROPEAN DISABILITY FORUM ADVOCACY
ON ANTI-DISCRIMINATION
In July 2008, the European Commission published a
proposal for a Directive implementing the principle of
equal treatment between person irrespective of
religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.
To the European Disability Forum (EDF), this proposal
was the result of many years of campaigning that
culminated in 2007 with the “One Million For
Disability” (www.1million4disability.eu) initiative, in
which EDF succeeded in collecting 1.3 million
signatures in favour of extending the European
anti-discrimination legislation outside the labour
market. In the course of the campaign, EDF
presented the Commission with its shadow DisabilitySpecific Directive. This influenced the final
Commission proposal and set the benchmarks for
the EDF demands concerning the future EU directive.
Working daily with the Commission’s Disability Unit,
EDF provides the Commission with the experiences
of disability discrimination and possible solutions to
be included in the draft Directive. The membershipbased structure of EDF, its long-standing
commitment to disability rights and first-hand
understanding of the disability issues make EDF an
legitimate equal partner in the work on the disability
aspects of the Directive.
Since the adoption of the Commission proposal, the
EDF lobbying efforts were extended to the legislative
institutions of the EU – the European Parliament and
the Council, with whom EDF remains in regular close
contact in order the ensure the visibility of disability
and provide expertise on disability articles of the
proposal.
Influencing the Co-decision Legislative
Procedure
PREPARATION
Co-decision, or the community method, is the EU’s usual
method of decision-making, in which the Commission makes
a proposal to the Council and the European Parliament, who
then debate it, propose amendments and eventually adopt it
as EU law. The procedure may comprise one, two or three
‘readings’ (see fig.8 below). It is important to note that the
majority of legislative proposals on development issues are
adopted after the first reading and none have gone beyond
the second reading stage. For the purpose of this guide, we
will cover the process in detail from the pre-proposal stage at
the European Commission to the completion of the second
reading.
Figure 8 The Co-decision Legislative Procedure (first and second readings)
Pre-proposal
Commission proposal
FIRST READING
European Parliament
Approved as is
Council
Approve EP
first reading
Proposal adopted
Amendment
– in committees
– in plenary
Reject EP
first reading
Common position
second READING
European Parliament
Reject
Amendment
– in committees
– in plenary
(absoloute majority voting)
Council
Approve common
position
Proposal adopted
Accept amendments
Reject
Conciliation committee
Bond guide to Influencing the European Union 15
Pre-proposal stage
As explained, it is possible to get information of what
proposals might be in the pipeline at the European
Commission in a variety of ways. Once you have that
information, you should identify who (which Directorate
General, unit and officials) will be responsible for drafting any
legislative proposals. At this early stage, it is also worth finding
out if the Commission is planning on setting up an Expert
Group to advise on the drafting of the proposal or if they are
planning on working with an existing Expert Group. These
groups are open to NGOs and any other actors that are
perceived as expert partners to help develop EU proposed
legislation. Building alliances with other like-minded NGOs and
networking with established NGO networks in Brussels to
raise awareness of your issues are also good ideas at this
stage.
resolution including amendments to the Commission’s
proposal. Amendments can be tabled by any MEP sitting on
that committee. MEPs will accept suggested wording for
amendments from trusted sources, including NGOs.
It is worth contacting any friendly MEPs at this stage, if you
haven’t already done so, in order to raise awareness of your
issues, convey any concerns on the Commission proposal
being debated and offer to draft amendments. Once these are
tabled by your friendly MEP, however, you should mobilise
support more broadly in order to ensure your amendments are
approved by the committee.
After the report has been adopted at committee level it will go
to plenary. Here it will be voted on by qualified majority voting.
Drafting stage
Initial research, networking and constituency building efforts
should ensure that you are well placed to influence any
proposal when it is eventually drafted. Even if you haven’t had
the possibility of getting in earlier, once a proposal is being
developed, your key targets will be the European Commission
officials responsible for actually drafting the document. You
should ensure that you are not a ‘lone voice’ at the
Commission. Networking and constituency building, both
among peers and with other influentials (e.g. friendly UK MEPs
or friendly officials at the UK Permanent Representation)
should also be prioritised.
First reading
Once a legislative proposal is published by the European
Commission, your focus should switch to the Council and the
European Parliament. Both institutions consider the proposal
simultaneously.
Influencing the European Parliament
After receiving the Commission’s proposal, the President of
the European Parliament refers it to the relevant parliamentary
committee for examination. The lead committee will be
responsible for producing a report amending the
Commission’s proposal. Other relevant committees may also
issue an ‘opinion’ on the Commission proposal. These
‘opinions’ are included in the final draft of the lead committee’s
report.
During the development of the report, the Commission may
be invited to speak to the committee in order to defend its
proposal and answer questions by committee members. The
report is then drafted by a ‘rapporteur’ (i.e. an MEP sitting on
that committee) and it includes an overview of the
Commission’s proposal, the views of different parties involved,
any possible ‘opinions’ from other committees and a
16 Bond guide to Influencing the European Union
Who to target at the EP’s first reading
Rapporteur: responsible for drafting the lead
committee report. Reports are awarded to political
groups on a points system. MEPs can signal their
interest in drafting a particular report. Usually, the
drafting of the report will be coordinated by the
Rapporteur’s assistant.
Shadow rapporteur: MEP from a different political
group who shadows the drafting of the report.
Group co-ordinators: in principle, political groups at
the Parliament coordinate their respective positions
during debates and during the voting in committee and
in plenary. It is best to have co-ordinators on your side.
Secretariat officials: one official from the committee
secretariat will be responsible for following a draft
report and closely supporting the Rapporteur (and their
assistant).
Draftspersons: MEPs from other relevant Committees
that are tasked with drafting their ‘opinions’ on specific
proposals.
Keeping Informed
• Information on the European Parliament’s
positions:
www.europarl.europa.eu/activities/plenary/posip.
do?language=EN
• Information on the Council’s current common
positions: www.europarl.europa.eu/activities/
plenary/staticDisplay.do?language=EN&id=2101
Influencing the Council
The Council examines the Commission’s proposal in parallel to
the European Parliament. Throughout the first reading there is
an intensive exchange of information between the three
institutions. At the Council, the Presidency is tasked with
brokering contacts with the European Commission and
negotiations with the European Parliament. The relevant
working groups at the Council discuss the proposal. The
deliberations of the working groups are then sent upwards to
the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) for
the latter’s approval. The role of COREPER is essential to
secure the requisite political agreement among the member
states. It is important to keep abreast of these discussions if
possible. This can either be done by meeting with members of
the Permanent Representation in Brussels or with relevant
government officials at the national level.
After the European Parliament has voted on its report in
plenary session, the Council can either accept the outcome of
the European Parliament’s first reading, in which case the
proposal is adopted, or it can reject the European Parliament’s
position. In this case, where no agreement could be reached,
the Council adopts what is known as a common position. The
Council’s common position is communicated back to the
European Parliament together with a statement of reasons for
both the Council’s and the Commission’s position towards the
European Parliament’s amendments.
SECOND READING
Within three months from the receipt of the Council common
position, the European Parliament may approve, reject or
amend the Council’s common position at its second reading.
The process for approval at the Parliament is similar to the first
reading. The one notable difference is that, if Parliament
decides to adopt amendments to the common position, it can
only do so with the agreement of an absolute majority of
MEPs. In the case of approval, the act is adopted. In the case
of rejection, the procedure lapses and the legislative proposal
falls.
As soon as the Council receives the European Parliament’s
amended text the Council has three months from that date to
decide whether or not to approve all the European
Parliament’s amendments. This is the Council’s second
reading. In cases where the Council is not able to do so, the
codecision procedure provides for the European Parliament
and the Council to convene a Conciliation Committee.
Top tips for influencing EU decision-making
• Get in early
• Have clear objectives, messages and outcomes
• Always understand the wider EU context
• Identify the Institution in charge and your key
targets depending on what stage in the codecision procedure you get in at
• Establish your organisation as the ‘expert’ for your
key targets
• Use the UK government as your first port of call
• Use Bond as a source of information, for
networking and for collective influencing in the UK
• Use friendly UK MEPs
• Make friends with the institutions and NGOs in
Brussels
Keeping informed
The web portal of the European Commission,
http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm#, provides links to all
of the following and more:
• All the Commissioners’ home pages
• All the Directorates General’s home pages
• Staff directory. For a search by name you can also
go to http://europa.eu/whoiswho/public/index.
cfm?lang=en
• The EC press room: http://europa.eu/press_room/
index_en.htm
• Commission studies
• Green papers
• Discussion papers
• Live consultations
• EC annual work and legislative programme
• Directorates General work plans
• List of Expert Groups: http://ec.europa.eu/
transparency/regexpert/
• EC Annual Policy Strategy
Bond guide to Influencing the European Union 17
Useful contacts
How Bond can help
In the UK
In Europe
Two Bond Groups have a specific focus on EU institutions:
Bond is the UK national platform to CONCORD (www.
concordeurope.org), the European confederation of relief and
development NGOs consisting of 22 NGO national platforms
and 18 international networks representing over 1600 NGOs.
CONCORD represents the development community within the
EU Civil Society Contact Group, which brings together eight
large rights and value based NGO sectors – environment,
social, development, human rights, lifelong learning, public
health, culture and women.
• Bond European Policy Group provides joint analysis of
EU policy developments and coordinates advocacy
initiatives targeting the EU:
www.bond.org.uk/pages/epg.html
• Bond EC Funding Group provides information sharing on
technical EC funding issues and joint analysis and
influencing of EC funding environment:
www.bond.org.uk/pages/ecfg.html
Other Bond Groups and UK networks target EU institutions on
specific issues. Project groups can be set up on specific
initiatives. Some examples of active Bond Groups, project
groups and UK networks are:
• Bond European Neighbourhood Group
• Bond Latin America and Caribbean Group
• Bond Environment and Development Group
• UK Food Group
• Development Education Association
The Bond Advocacy team offers support to Bond Groups and
members to analyse how the EU affects the issues they are
working on and to plan collective influencing of EU institutions.
For information on Bond’s EU work or information on the EU
focused working groups and how to join them, you may
contact the Bond EU Policy Officer and EU Campaigns Officer
on [email protected]
18 Bond guide to Influencing the European Union
Participation in CONCORD is strategic for Bond and its
members in order to access information, share best practice
across Europe and be able to speak with one strong voice in
Brussels.