The paper seeks to clarify what sub-national offices think they are doing in Brussels and why, through an analysis of the origins, characteristics and practices of the regional representations in Brussels.

This paper focuses on the trend of regions to represent themselves in the European capital. Regional representations have become a conspicuous presence in Brussels, well acknowledged as partners of the European policy community. The paper reports that (in April 2007) there are 165 regions, 17 local or subregional authorities, 26 networks of local and regional authorities, and 18 other entities (mainly representations of regional private-sector entities) accredited by the Brussels Capital Region, for a total of 226 accredited offices.

The paper is based on a research project on regional offices that was carried out on behalf of the Brussels Capital Region and the Brussels-Europe Liaison Office (BELO) by the Political Science Department and the Institute for European Studies of the Flemish-speaking Free University of Brussels (VUB). The research was conducted from May 2004 until February 2005 and included a survey (a written questionnaire submitted to all local and regional representations then present in Brussels) organized in June 2004 and interviews with officers of representations and regional network co-ordinators. Where possible, more recent information has been used to update this article.

Brussels can indeed be considered the world capital of lobbying for local and regional authorities. The activities of their representations in Brussels, present, however, a specific profile that partly distinguishes them from classic interest groups and lobbies. The activities of regional representations in Brussels are broader and not focused solely on direct lobbying and interest representation. Regional offices were set up in Brussels for a variety of different reasons: some primarily sought funding, others were determined to play a significant political role at EU-level and some regions were primarily seeking a pied à terre to raise their profile and connect with networks and a supranational community in proximity of the EU institutions. Whatever the initial motives were to come to Brussels, today the offices have converged on a similar set of goals and activities. They have become much more uniform in that they all combine a broad range of activities and all seek to inform, network, lobby, liaise and market for their regions. The regions with legislative powers constitute a separate category that focuses primarily on influencing policies, given that their preferential access to the European Council of Ministers and Commission allows them to do so effectively. However, the activities of these regions’ representations are also converging with the other offices’ practices.

The diversified range of functions that regional offices fulfil is one of the reasons why they are likely to be permanent fixtures in Brussels. Their presence is not dependent on the availability of EU funds or the Committee of the Region's political influence. The varied tasks that they perform make them relevant and useful to their home regions even if certain policy changes or the end of funding opportunities force the regional offices to reorient their foci.

Brussels Studies
Michel Hubert (Editor in Chief), tel. +32 (0)2/211 78 53

25/02/2008

Michel Huysseune and Theo Jans

research

Urban Policy