ABSTRACT
Thus, the successful groups are those that exhibit the usual professional characteristics – namely resources, advance intelligence, good contacts with bureaucrats and politicians, and above all an ability to provide policy-makers with sound information and advice. Reputations for expertise, reliability, and trust are key resources in lobbying in Brussels as elsewhere. A respondent from the Directorate General for the Environment (DG XI), for example, stressed the need for groups to be ‘responsible’ – by which was meant a willingness to be involved in the policy-making process without publicity. This means that lobbying styles may be as important as the content and objectives of the lobbying itself. The way that business is conducted will affect policy outcomes, as it plays a significant part in shaping the perceptions of participants and, therefore, their willingness to listen to each other, and to make concessions during the processing of issues. As another
respondent remarked to us, there was a marked difference in the degree of professionalism of groups that approached the Commission and hence in the weight that was attached to their views. As we will suggest in the next section, perceptions may be especially relevant to a consideration of the politics of the environment in the EC, as the three main groups of interests – bureaucrats, environmentalists, and industrialists – have particular perceptions of each other which may affect their effectiveness in the policy-making process.
