ABSTRACT
One of the most important developments in the European Union (EU) has been the mobilisation of large multinational firms. 1 The collective action of European big business signalled the arrival of new politically powerful actors in the Brussels policy making process. Today, the European Roundtable of Industrialists (ERT) – an organisation of chief executive officers from forty-five leading European companies – is arguably the most influential interest group in Brussels. Unlike most Brussels based organisations, the ERT directs its agenda setting strategies at the European Council as well as the European Commission. The EU Committee of AmCham – the group of American multinational corporations – is recognised as one of the most efficient interest groups. Every month, the EU Committee sends out more than 10,000 documents – position papers, reports, letters, and so on – to specifically targeted Commission, Council, European Parliament and media officials. European big business has even emerged as an important international actor in the EU. In the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD), large companies, with support from national industry associations, have organised themselves to shape the US-EU trade and investment agenda.
