Good Practice

Atwul Gawande’s “The Checklist Manifesto” is one of the most useful books I have read and applied. Over the last 10 years or so I’ve been building up a checklist of questions that help identify from the very beginning if you have a good chance of success when working to influence a piece of EU … Read more

The European Commission runs many public consultations.  They give you a good chance to make your case in writing and influence policymaking. Here is a checklist that will make preparing your response easier and more persuasive. 1.    Prepare the evidence you need to support your case in advance. 2.    Prepare your submission in advance. The questions that … Read more

A lot of position papers are drafted in Brussels. Done well, they are one seful tool to make your case. Too often they serve the purpose of getting internal buy-in, more an acclamation of faith, than any sincere attempt to persuade decision-makers to back your case. If you want to draft persuasive position papers that … Read more

I’ve just re-watched an old Channel 4 documentary on how the first EU wide clean air law got through in 1997. The 3 episodes follow the adoption of  Directive 1999/30/EC. It still is the most realistic fly on the wall series I have watched on how EU law really is passed. I did not re-watch … Read more