07May 2023 by Joost Mulder

BRUZZ International – At the heart of European lobbying

Better Europ's Yiorgos Vassalos is discussing the new book by Jean Comte « Au cœur du lobbying européen », on BRUZZ International. Yiorgos explained that "only 20% of lobbyists in Brussels work for NGOs that care about the environment, or human rights, or about development. This creates a structural problem with EU policies -- when they are made, the interests of big corporations are much more taken into acccount than the interests of citizens."

24Feb 2023 by Joost Mulder

Brace yourself – elections are coming: Advocacy opportunities in 2023

News, Opinion

While the European Parliament elections might still seem far away, recent developments reveal that the election season has already begun. Since the Qatargate scandal rocked the Parliament, political parties are publicly accusing one another in an effort to polish their image – a clear indication that the gates of the electoral arena have been opened. With the start of the election season, the time is right to look at the anticipated changes and plan your next advocacy steps. What is going to change? According to the latest polls of December 2022, five out of seven political groups are expected to lose seats in the next legislative period. Only the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) are foreseen to substantially win seats, although not as many as their national equivalents in some…

28Oct 2020 by Joost Mulder

A Bruxelles, l’émergence de lobbyistes « éthiques » – Le Monde 28/08/2020

In the media

Les lobbyistes grouillent à Bruxelles, et ce n’est pas nouveau. L’ONG Transparency International estime qu’ils sont environ 38 000 à arpenter les rues de la capitale européenne pour influencer les processus législatifs. Parmi eux, on trouve de nouveaux personnages qui veulent accoler les qualificatifs « éthique » ou « durable » à ces pratiques si souvent décriées. ... L’objectif de tout bon lobbyiste, c’est d’avoir un impact. Pour ce faire, il faut connaître les rouages de la mécanique décisionnelle européenne, parfois sibylline. Joost Mulder est de ceux-là. The full article is available here.

11Mar 2020 by Joost Mulder

Highlights from the first three EU Academy trainings 2019-2020

Uncategorized

A diverse and eager group attended EUChanger’s first training in Brussels on 21 June 2019. Focussing on influencing for the public good in the post-election context, the first EU Academy attracted 20 participants active in a wide range of policy areas including: climate, energy, international development, corporate governance, sustainable finance, tax, and human rights. It was a packed day with expert input from Vote Watch Europe on the outcome of the May European elections, a dynamic training on EU influencing essentials drawing on the experience of EUChanger’s Marc-Olivier Herman and Better Europe’s Joost Mulder, a lunch debate with advisors of various EP political groups and a group simulation on a current legislative file. The feedback we received from many participants shows just how important this type of training is for…

28Mar 2019 by Joost Mulder

European Parliament agrees stance on sustainability taxonomy – IPE 28/03/2019

In the media, News

According to Joost Mulder, an independent Brussels-based public affairs specialist, MEPs today also decided that nuclear energy, coal-based electricity and “carbon lock-in” technologies would not be “stimulated” under the taxonomy. (more…)

30Nov 2018 by Joost Mulder

Lobbytijd bij toezichthouders en beleidsambtenaren kopen? – FTM

In the media

Public affairs-specialist Joost Mulder maakte de conferenties enkele keren van binnenuit mee. Jarenlang werkte hij voor de financiële lobbywaakhond Finance Watch; in die hoedanigheid kon hij als een van de weinige vertegenwoordigers van publieke organisaties af en toe een kijkje nemen op de bijeenkomsten. "Het is het beste voorbeeld van groepsdenken dat ik ken," vertelt hij op een herfstige namiddag in een Brusselse koffietent. Je moet het zien als een schoolreisje, of als heidagen. Alle ideeën komen in een snelkookpan terecht en aan het eind van de conferentie is iedereen het eens." https://www.ftm.nl/artikelen/eurofil-verkoopt-lobbytijd

31May 2018 by Joost Mulder

#askalobbyist

In the media, Opinion

Is lobbying a corporate affair? Lobbying and advocacy - is it all the same? What are the strenghts and weaknesses of NGOs, associations and businesses, and what can they learn from each other? (more…)

24Apr 2018 by Joost Mulder

MEPs: Green finance good, sustainable finance better

News

As the European Commission is finalizing the last set of legislative proposals that can still be completed before the European Parliament elections, MEPs today adopted a non-legislative report in ECON calling for a more ambitious strategy on sustainable finance. MEPs support the criticism that the Commission's Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth is too narrowly focused on climate change and should support a wider European agenda on long-term sustainable financing of the European economy. (more…)

31Jan 2018 by Joost Mulder

HLEG Sustainable Finance – waiting for the Commission’s Action Plan

News, Opinion

Today, the EU High-Level Expert Group (HLEG) on Sustainable Finance published its final report. It's a key step but not the final one - the Commission's Action Plan on sustainable finance, due early March 2018, is where we will see which recommendations will be transformed into EU policy initiatives. The final HLEG report (PDF) published on 31 January 2018 widens the scope of sustainable finance beyond environment and climate change to social issues (although governance issues seem to be left out). (more…)

07Nov 2017 by Joost Mulder

Cold shower for European Financial Supervision changes

News

Looking at the Presidency briefing, today's ECOFIN discussion on European financial supervision promised to be difficult. It suggested that "Whereas some member states support the proposed reforms, a number of others are critical. In their view, the proposals don't reflect the results of the Commission's public consultation, and are insufficiently justified by its impact assessment. Concerns have also been expressed about the complexity of the proposals, and the additional burden this will place on market players." (more…)