Women rule roost in Brussels’ lobbying

Date: 21/02/02

By Laurence Frost

WOMEN make the best lobbyists in Brussels, according to a new study on the impact consultants have on EU legislation.

Robin Pedler, academic director of the European Centre for Public Affairs, says women are playing a 'growing and increasingly effective role' in helping to shape future directives and regulations.

Pedler has compiled 14 campaign case studies in a new book, European Union Lobbying, which highlights the hugely influential role played by consultants in advising decision-makers in the Commission and European Parliament.

There are estimated to be more than 10,000 lobbyists in the Belgian capital, ranging from single-issue NGOs to law firms and specialist companies representing major corporations or national interests.

One of the key findings in Pedler's book concerns the role of women. Contributor Julian Oliver, senior policy advisor to the European Policy Centre and former chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce, studied the negotiations arising from the implementation of the 1995 data protection directive.

He found that some of the 'most active participants' in the talks were women in what he describes as a 'welcome maturing of the profession'.

'Women are better listeners and better networkers,' Oliver explained.

'Men have more testosterone and a tendency to throw their weight around.

'Women aren't so aggressive and confrontational - they're therefore able to get to the 'yes' much more quickly in negotiations.'

In a development that mirrors the US, officials in the EU institutions themselves are also increasingly being drawn into the lobbying game as they seek to influence 'competing' directorates and each other.

Oliver highlights the role played by Susan Binns, a director in the Commission's internal market directorate, during the data privacy negotiations with her US counterpart Barbara Wellbery, a senior counsellor at the Department of Commerce.

Pedler also points out that four out of the 14 case studies he has compiled were written or co-written by women responsible for the campaigns.

His female 'vanguard' include Asunción Caparrós, European affairs manager in Brussels for ABN Amro; Laurentien van Oranje-Nassau, chair of European corporate practice at WeberShandwick Worldwide; Susan Pointer, head of EU policy for the Confederation of British Industry; and Irena Peterlin, adviser to the executive board of Slovenian Steelworks.

In contrast, the Oxford University-based author's previous study of the sector in 1994 featured no female authors.

European Union Lobbying, edited by Robin Pedler, is published by Palgrave in association with the European Centre for Public Affairs.

Women make the best lobbyists in Brussels, according to a new study on the impact consultants have on EU legislation.