Giles Merritt
Giles Merrit is a Brussels lobbyist is director of Forum Europe and secretary-general of Friends of Europe, he also runs a think tank called the New Defence Agenda (renamed Security and Defence Agenda from 1 February 2006).
According to a Corporate Europe Observatory report on the 2004 European Business summit:
- Merrit is a Brussels lobbying veteran whose CV includes running the Philip Morris Institute for Public Policy Research in the 1990s, being director of the thinktank Forum Europe and Secretary general of Friends of Europe, as well as establishing the "Fairer World Forum" (in response to the globalisation debate). NDA was set up by Forum Europe (which Merrit was the director of), with whom they still share a building (Bibliotheque Solvay, in the parc right next to the European Parliament). At the EBS, NATO's Jamie Shea introduced NDA as "the leading forum in Brussels bringing together NATO, EU and other partners". Merrit in his introduction expressed his worries about whether the UK would reduce defence expenses, as the UK and France are the only EU countries that "have their defence act together".[1]
Merritt's activities are based in the Bibliothéque Solvay which is run by La Maison de l'Europe, on the advisory board of which Merritt sits. [2] The Bibliothéque Solvay is situated in a park very close to the European Parliament and is used by Merritt for many of his lobbying meetings.
Affiliations
- Europe's World magazine – Editor-in-Chief
- Forum Europe
- Friends of Europe
- Open Society Institute[3]
- Security and Defence Agenda
