European Policy Centre

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Logo of the European Policy Centre, circa November 2011
Twenty-pound-notes.jpg This article is part of the Lobbying Portal, a sunlight project from Spinwatch.

The European Policy Centre (EPC) is a pro-business European think tank, founded in 1996/7. It was formerly known as the Belmont European Policy Centre created in 1991. It is committed to making European integration work and enjoys an influential position within European politics and business circles. Its members include companies, professional and business federations, trade unions, diplomatic missions, regional and local bodies, as well as NGOs representing a broad range of civil society interests, foundations, international and religious organisations.[1] The EPC defines its mission as "contributing to the construction of Europe", and to achieve this it "encourages a debate among all significant interest groups and channels the results to policy-makers". It makes no secret of placing "special emphasis on strengthening the interface of government with business". [2] The EPC is one of the most prominent EU think tanks it relies on both corporate funding and public money. EPC spokespeople often appear in the media as neutral commentators. [3]

The European Policy Centre is based in Résidence Palace 155 rue de la Loi Brussels, a formerly a luxury apartment block that now contains offices for the Council of the European Union, the European Council and some Belgian government offices. Others who use the building include media organisations, think tanks including Lisbon Council and the journo-lobbying website TechCentralStation (that Corporate Europe Observatory describes as "an aggressive US journo-lobbying website funded by companies like Microsoft, Exxon and McDonalds. The website www.Tech CentralStation.be is full of the kind of furious attacks on environmental and social legislation that are more commonly associated with radio talkshows from the US mid-west". [4] The EPC makes no secret of its pro business stance "We are action oriented and we believe that business must be more involved in public policies."[5]

History

The Centre, as the EPC calls itself, was established in January 1997 by a trio of prominent public affairs people, Stanley Crossick, godfather of Brussels lobbying; Max Kohnstamm, former vice president of the Jean Monnet Action Committee; and John Palmer, former European editor of The Guardian. In 1991 Crossick, Kohnstamm and Palmer had founded the Belmont European Policy Centre, which was the predecessor of the EPC.

The EPC's bias towards industry is well reflected in the composition of its advisory board, which together with the advisors' team helps the three founders run the Centre, and also in its membership. The Centre claims to include trade unions, but in fact the only representative is Emilio Gabaglio, secretary-general of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), well-known for its constructive approach towards neo-liberal European Union policies.

There are no other representatives of 'civil society' involved. However, the board does include six European parliamentarians, five former directors-general and a vice president of the European Commission, journalists from newspapers such as Le Monde and the Financial Times, corporate directors from Philips and Mars, and influential industrialists such as Peter Sutherland (former European commissioner and GATT director and current chairman of British Petroleum and Goldman Sachs International); the former and current ERT secretary generals Keith Richardson and Wim Philippa; UNICE secretary general Dirk Hudig, and Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa from the executive board of the European Central Bank. The EPC enjoys significant financial support from its corporate members such as ABB, BAT, BP, British Telecom and Solvay -- all members of the European Roundtable of Industrialists (ERT) -- and other large corporations such as Dow, DuPont, Philip Morris and SmithKline Beecham. In exchange, these corporate donors are provided services such as regular contact with decision makers.[6]


EPC & Science

The European Policy Centre analysed the role of science in the decision-making of the European Union and made a number of recommendations on how to the improve the use of science by EU institutions. [7] [8]

EPC: Roundtable on Alcohol Related Harm

Alcohol badge.jpg This article is part of the Spinwatch public health oriented Alcohol Portal project.

The EPC were asked to chair a series of four meetings intended to‘identify areas of agreement between the stakeholders as to actions that can contribute effectively to the reduction of alcohol-related harm and indicate where and why there is disagreement, and in so doing help create confidence between stakeholders’.[9] The EPC invited a number of industry stakeholders, public health NGOs the European Commission members states and academic experts. The substance of the meetings involved working through 78 issues related to alcohol policy presented by the European Commission in an informal draft of their communication on Alcohol. Each item was graded on the basis of a traffic lights system, green issues were broadly agreeable to all present and 68 of the measures were, to the surprise of health campaigners green. Seven were amber, indicating no overall agreement but that some compromises might be reached. Three were categorised as red issues where the industry simply refused to negotiate. [10]

Dr Peter Anderson, author of the Alcohol In Europe report (2006) commented “The European Policy Centre (EPC) describes itself as ‘an independent, not-for-profit think tank, committed to making European integration work’. Its independence is, of course, ensured by the fact that its prime corporate members and sponsors include InBev, the world’s largest brewer and Philip Morris International”. [11] The final outcome of this process, and other consultations resulted in the launch of the European Alcohol and Health Forum.

In 1998 Diageo and The Weinberg Group helped set up a European Policy Centre Forum. Correspondence shows a representative of Diageo trying to organise a discount for a booking made by Weinberg Group for a forum run by the EPC. [12]. Weinberg Group are well known for their work assisting tobacco, alcohol and chemical industries.

Tobacco Industry Work

According to ASH:

"The European Policy Centre (EPC) is a well respected Brussels based think tank that BAT has used as the key consultancy group, sometimes alongside the Weinberg Group to help with lobbying to ensure policy makers are legally obliged to include tobacco companies’ opinions in European policymaking development and decision making processes. The EPC had the particular advantage that it had developed a broad profile and received funding from the European Commission allowing it to acquire insider status in policy making circles" [13]

The EPC were part of a policy network used by British American Tobacco (BAT) to make changes to EU treaties in order to minimise legislative burdens on business. From 1995 BAT organised other corporate actors, including the EPC, Shell, Zeneca, Tesco, SmithKline Beecham, Bayer and Unilever, to mount a multi-year lobby campaign aiming at shaping the EU's impact assessment, to ensure regulations would undermine public health rather than reduce the profitably of business. This rendered EU policy even more pro-business. BAT's use of a policy network distanced the tobacco industry form the lobbying efforts and obscuring the tobacco industry's involvement. The research also found evidence of tobacco and chemical industries using the changes to delay or weaken legislation to improve public health. [14] The European Policy Centre and the Weinberg Group were central to British American Tobacco's approach. [15]

BAT were also helped by a UK consultancy, Charles Barker,

to work out the advantages of pushing such an approach at the UK and EU levels, the study says. According to the scientists, the firm warned BAT that they would need to tread carefully, lobbying through a 'front' organisation and enlisting other 'big industry names'[16]

Ultimately it was the EPC that provided the front.

David Byrne, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection 1999-2004 was reportedly shocked: ‘I would be absolutely astonished and would find it very difficult to believe if there was any available information which tended to indicate that the European Policy Centre was advocating on behalf of the tobacco industry – that would be shocking’. [17]

Funding

The EPC is financed by membership and subscription fees, grants from philanthropic organisations and from EU funds. In 2010 donations amounting to € 800,000 were received from three philanthropic foundations, the Compagnia di San Paolo (based in Turin) the King Baudouin Foundation, based in Brussels and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Portugal. The EPC also received an operating grant of €145,556 from the EU budget under the ‘Europe for Citizens’ programme.[18]

Affiliations

People

Advisory council Circa 2011

People

Advisory council

Former Advisory Council Members

Membership

Circa 2011

Platinum membership is the highest offered by the EPC, however it appears that you are unable to pay for platinum level entry. Subscription charges are for one year’s membership. Gold membership is open to large multi-national businesses and costs €10, 000 per annum; silver membership is open to medium sized businesses and costs €5, 000 each year, while bronze membership is open to small businesses and costs €2,500. Professional and Business association membership costs€1 000. Foundations and Religious organisations can subscribe for €500. Diplomatic Representations are open to missions, embassies and permanent representations the subscription cost ranges between €500 and €1 250. For Inter-Governmental and Governmental Organisations Regional Bodies and Local Authorities subscription costs €1 000 NGOs can join for €500 while Platforms of Non-Governmental Organisations costs slightly more at €1 000. [20]

Members listed on The EPC's Website include:

Resources, Publications, Contact, Notes

Resources

Notes

  1. ↑ European Policy Centre, About Us: Mission Statement accessed 1st November 2011
  2. ↑ European Policy Centre, About Us: Mission Statement accessed 1st November 2011
  3. ↑ Corporate Europe Observatory, Lobby Planet: Brussels the EU Quarter July 2005, accessed 1st November 2011
  4. ↑ Corporate Europe Observatory, Lobby Planet: Brussels the EU Quarter July 2005, accessed 1st November 2011
  5. ↑ Quoted in "Crossing the Business and Political Divide", by Rory Watson, the European Voice 9-15 July 1998.
  6. ↑ Corporate Europe Observatory, Lobby Planet: Brussels the EU Quarter July 2005, accessed 1st November 2011
  7. ↑ Editorial Science and politics: From science to decision making Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, 44 (2006) 1–3, accessed 7th November 2011
  8. ↑ Bruce Ballantine, EPC Working Paper No 17. Enhancing the role of science in the decision-making of the European Union European Policy Centre, 2005, accessed 7th November 2011
  9. ↑ Corporate Europe Observatory, Part One: The European Policy Centre European Think Tank Series, Issue 2, October 1998,
  10. ↑ EPC The EPC Last Accessed July 2007
  11. ↑ Anderson & Baumberg, Alcohol Policy: Who should sit at the table? Addiction Volume 102, No. 2 pp 335-336 (online subscription required)
  12. ↑ Legacy Library, Fax to Sarah Bennett BLRA from Andrea Livett of Diageo 10th March 1998, accessed 7th November 2011
  13. ↑ ASH, Smoke Filled Room 2010, accessed 7th November 2011
  14. ↑ Katherine E. Smith Gary Fooks, Jeff Collin, Heide Weishaar, Sema Mandal1, Anna B. Gilmore, Working the System”—British American Tobacco's Influence on the European Union Treaty and Its Implications for Policy: An Analysis of Internal Tobacco Industry Documents Public Library of Science, 12th January 2010, accessed 7th November 2011
  15. ↑ Leigh Phillips, Big tobacco distorted EU treaty, scientists say EUobserver 13th January 2010, accessed 7th November 2011
  16. ↑ Katherine E. Smith1 Gary Fooks, Jeff Collin, Heide Weishaar, Sema Mandal1, Anna B. Gilmore, Working the System”—British American Tobacco's Influence on the European Union Treaty and Its Implications for Policy: An Analysis of Internal Tobacco Industry Documents Public Library of Science, 12th January 2010, accessed 7th November 2011
  17. ↑ Campaign against Euro-federalism, Working the system Lobbying by transnational corporations May/June 2011 (no. 123), accessed 7th November 2011
  18. ↑ European Union, European Policy Centre Transparency Register, 29th July 2011, accessed 7th November 2011
  19. ↑ European Union, European Policy Centre Transparency Register, 29th July 2011, accessed 7th November 2011
  20. ↑ European Policy Centre, Benefits & Fees accessed 1st November 2011
  21. ↑ EPC, Our Members accessed 1st November 2011
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