A checklist for when you are stepping in late to a legislative proposal

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If you wake up one day and find you are caught by a legislative proposal, what can you do?

In a previous post, ‘99 Questions to Answer to Prepare your EU Legislative Campaign‘, I provided a checklist if you had started out early.

But, if you are stepping in late after the Commission has made its proposal, here are 15 questions you need to have the answers to.

  1. What’s the impact of the proposal on you? Be specific.  Flesh it out in a line or two.
  2. Did you submit anything in the public consultation? If not, why not?
  3. What does the IA/RSB Opinion say about your issue?
  4. What did the Commission tell you on why they were dealing with this issue?
  5. Who are the key legislative decision makers on the proposals: Rapporteur/Shadows, Political Advisers, Group Advisers, Council Working Party members, national experts, Ministers, their political advisers, and the Commission legislative negotiating team.
  6. For each of the above, what is their view on your issue/position?
  7. What is your solution: Amendment, justification, evidence, up to 2-page position paper
  8. What is your initial assessment of the likelihood of you getting what you want? Do you have the votes to get what you want?
  9. When are you meeting the key decision-makers (see 5)?
  10. Have you adapted your message to the values of each of the key decision-makers?
  11. How are you going to persuade them?
  12. What is your story? Is your story written out?
  13. Do you have a legislative campaign/ lobby plan written down? Not a PowerPoint.
  14. Who are going to be your advocates? Have they rehearsed?
  15. What is the legislative timetable? Work back and list when the key political decisions are taken. The real decisions are taken way ahead of the formal confirmations. Are you stepping in too late?