The fifth Burson-Marsteller's survey on lobbying expanded coverage to 20 national European countries including Brussels from the EU-institutional focus. Some 600 interviews were carried out by local polling agencies and analyzed by Penn, Schoen & Berland (PSB) on behalf of Burson-Masteller during the period running from January until April 2013. The interviews involved a basic series of 23 questions to identify perceptions among policy elites about lobbying and lobbyists.

The European Commission is going to check check eurozone countries' draft budgets to verify whether they are in line with EU rules and will ask for changes if they are not (two-pack bundle of legislation). The objective is further strengthen eurozone budget discipline and prevent another sovereign debt crisis. The new two-pack law complements the existing budget rules, tightened at the end of 2011 through the introduction of swifter financial sanctions for those breaking deficit and debt limits.

Policymakers, observers and the media have referred to a vast number of divisions in crisis-torn Europe. The EU is divided between north and south or creditors and debtors. Some have emphasised the emerged division between anti-EU and pro-EU forces. Significantly, these divisions are also manifested within the eurozone, in the form of the current differences between the French and German views, and the increasing role of the populist movements in many euro countries.

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) signed on 18 October 2013 between the EU and Canada will generate substantial new trade in goods and services as well as additional opportunities for investment. The new market access provided by the agreement will further improve the position of EU exporters and investors on the Canadian market. Once implemented, the agreement is expected to increase bilateral trade in goods and services by 22.9% or €25.7 billion, fostering growth and employment on both sides of the Atlantic.

Although common EU principles and individual rights related to elections exist, the EP elections are characterized by a considerable diversity of national rules, procedures, and practices. In addition, the political dimension of EP elections is dominated by national political actors and dynamics. The EP has sought to harmonize frameworks and practices for decades, but the Member States have thus far resisted further integration in this respect.

The UN Security Council includes 5 Permanent Members: China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and the United States of America and

10 Non-Permanent Members. Saudi Arabia, Chad, Chile, Nigeria and Lithuania have been elected by the UN Assembly for a 2 year mandate starting 1st. January 2014.

Rwanda, Argentina, Luxembourg, South Korea and Australia will remain as Non-Permanent Members until the end of 2014.

Summary for 2014

Permanent Members:

Fine Gael (Ireland’s current governing party) will host the Congress to launch the election campaign of the European People’s Party (EPP) on 6 and 7 March 2014 in Dublin. 2,000 delegates are expected to attend the two day Congress which will launch the EPP’s campaign for the 2014 European Parliament elections, by approving its manifesto and selecting the EPP’s candidate for President of the European Commission. Starting from Dublin, the EPP presidential candidate will campaign in all Member States of the European Union until the scheduled European elections in May 2014.

A report received from some 90 UK businesses and business organisations, and over 20 business organisations across Europe sets out a range of proposals to ensure that the EU single market makes it easy for businesses in Europe to trade across borders, and to ensure that the EU regulatory framework is, and remains, competitive in the global market place.

Barriers to Overall Competitiveness. To address these, the EU should:

The European People’s Party (EPP) is the political family of the centre-right, whose roots run deep in the history and civilisation of the European continent and which has pioneered the European project from its inception. Tracing back its roots to Europe’s Founding Fathers – Robert SCHUMAN, Alcide DE GASPERI, and Konrad ADENAUER - the EPP is committed to a strong Europe based on a federal model that relies on the principle of subsidiarity.

The committee stage of the legislative process begins when a proposal is received from the Commission and concludes when the committee adopts its final report. The committee’s formal rules divide the passage of legislation into three distinct phases, each of which provide lobbyists with particular opportunities to influence the final position. At each phase lobbyists and committee members alike are confronted with a new or revised legislative agenda. The agenda for the first phase is provided by the Commission’s legislative proposal.