The interest in challenging delegated acts, RPS measures, and implementing acts is growing.
Challenges take a lot of work to get prepared and are not taken likely. So, if you hear a challenge is going to happen, wake up.
Denial is not a strategy. If you hope it will all go away and nothing will happen, despite all signs to the contrary, you will likely be too late to do anything once the challenge gets tabled. This means what you want in the secondary piece of legislation will be lost.
If you suspect a challenge is coming, here are 10 things you can do.
A Checklist
- Keep your ear to the ground. The indications of a challenge being tabled were clear on all the challenges I know of. A good indication is whether the measure had a difficult adoption through the Commission or Expert Group/Member State Committee.
- Get prepared. Have your position down on 1 page and in plain English. MEPs or Ministers are not going to be issue experts. They’ll want to know if their prerogatives have been broken, the law or ignored, or a broader political symbolism.
- See who is backing the challenge. Cross Party challenges have greater chances of success.
- Do you have a network in the EP and the Council who will back your case? If you don’t, you need to develop one quickly.
- Know who the key decision makers are on any challenge? Who do you need to persuade?
- Speak with some of the key decision-makers to see their position and see if you can address their concerns/reservations.
- Speak with the Commission. Will they go to the wall defending the proposal or cut a deal to eliminate the offending provision?
- Look at votes on similar challenges. What does recent political history tell you about who will back a challenge?
- Know the steps for a challenge. The timetable goes quickly. The chances of reaching your destination are limited if you don’t know the map.
- When the challenge gets tabled, focus all your efforts on engaging the MEPs of Ministers/Officials who’ll decide the proposal’s fate.
The main lesson is once things start, you don’t have much time to change people’s minds.
There is an extract from my detailed list of steps to take.