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Public Affairs News , January 2007
INSIGHT: EUROPE
Craig Hoy talks to John Houston, founding chairman of the European Public Affairs Consultancies' Association (EPACA), after his two years spent establishing the organisation in Brussels
You have announced that you will stand down as chair of EPACA at the forthcoming AGM. Are you content with the achievements of EPACA during its first two years?
EPACA is now a thriving organisation with a steadily increasing membership today 45 companies with a total of some 750 staff, estimated at around 75 per cent of our market segment in Brussels. This successspeaks for itself. We have made enormous strides since EPACA's formal
establishment in January 2005. On the administrative side, things are well under way, though not complete - we are currently working on fine-tuning our disciplinary processes in the light of earlyexperiences. On the political side it has been a turbulent period, and I am not yet content with our positioning. Overall, I think we see a profession which, in the best sense, has come of age.
Is EPACA representative?
Very much so. Large, medium and small consultancies, independents and multinationals, all are represented. We also have members from various cultural and national traditions.
Has the European Transparency Initiative (ETI) from the European Commission had an important impact on the formative period of EPACA?
Yes, it has reinforced the commitment of our members to collective action.
But it has also made it more difficult to establish a properly functioning selfregulatory professional organisation. It was launched shortly after the formation of EPACA with some disobliging remarks from the Commission on the effectiveness of codes, even though the Commission had previously encouraged our code. This unexpectedly changed the
environment in a negative way, which we had to adapt to. It has also absorbed a lot of time and effort to prepare our own contributions to this process, both in meetings and submissions. And finally, it has provided a platform for a small group of ideologically driven lobbyists to present their private agenda as a public interest.
But has EPACA welcomed the ETI?
Yes, we have indeed welcomed the principles presented in the ETI - transparency and high standards of ethics in lobbying and public affairs. This is the whole raison d'etre of EPACA. It is good for the EU institutions to pursue maximum public awareness about how policy and
legislation is formed and what influences are brought to bear on the process, as well as transparency on the use of public funds. We strongly support those objectives.
EPACA has had to deal with a number of complaints recently. Does this demonstrate real problems with ethics in the profession?
No, it shows rather more that as the date for political decisions on the ETI approaches, certain lobbyists are stepping up their efforts to manufacture an appearance of such problems. It has in fact been quite useful to test and fine-tune our processes, and I think we will come out of this with robust and effective professional arrangements.
What were the complaints about?
The complaints made allegations concerning lack of transparency, and conflict of interest in relationships between the EU institutions and consultants. All raised issues about how the institutions handle supplier relationships, and what should be expected from consultants in
this context. We propose to discuss these questions further with the EU institutions.
Do you want the institutions to change what they do?
We want to establish a clear understanding, which the institutions will vigorously defend if necessary, of what constitutes proper behaviour on both transparency and conflict of interest on the part of suppliers to the EU institutions. If that involves changes either on the part of
consultancies or on how the institutions handle some of these matters, so be it. If there are business models which systematically involve unacceptable conflicts of interest, these will have to change.
Does lobbying pose risks to the integrity of EU decision-making?
In a lobbying environment, there is always a need to be vigilant. Benchmarking and promoting best practice is a task which I don't see ever ending, and I hope EPACA will contribute in a major and positive way to this. The main risk to the integrity of the system as a whole appears to come from a group of recently arrived NGO militants, whose predilection for black propaganda and manipulation has degraded the political debate, and seems to have unnerved the Commission. But I expect to see public affairs practitioners in Brussels continue what is
an honourable profession in an ethical fashion long after the transient merchants of spin have moved their malevolent influence on to other arenas.
How do you see the future of public affairs consultants in Brussels?
A key fact about Brussels is that there are more checks and balances than in most other systems that spring to mind. Even if one had politicians and officials inclined to corruption, no-one in the EU system - in contrast to others - can deliver a result. Coalitions,
compromises, cross-party, cross-institutional and cross-national agreements are required to produce results. This helps keep the system clean. Trusted relationships, reliable information, good arguments these have a particularly important role in Brussels. That has a healthy
effect on those who seek to influence the system, and means that good advice from high-quality consultants is still needed. |
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