Analyse: "Le lobbying est dépassé"

Dans cette analyse, le Dr. Stefan Schepers, de l’Institut européen d’administration publique (IEAP), indique l’évolution du lobbying d’un point de vue historique. Il prétend que le style antagoniste traditionnel du lobbying est dépassé. 

In this analysis entitled ‘Lobbying is outdated’, Dr. Stefan Schepers, partner and founding member of EPPA, observes the rapid changes that are going on throughout Europe. 

« The post-industrial economy has given rise to a post-modern state, which has returned a large number of economic tasks to the market (privatisation of state owned companies), » he observes. 

« In these rapidly emerging, new political and economic realities, lobbying in the antagonistic style, that is marketing a particular view or interest, often backed up by public campaigns and spin doctoring, will have to give way to a new approach. There is a need today of a broker function between the public interest and the private one, » Schepers argues. 

Lobbying, he goes on, should facilitate a collective learning process between public authorities and private interests in order to reach solutions. « The traditional bureaucratic and hierarchical approaches must give way to consensus and compromise building. This requires collective public-private learning processes, negotiation, market mechanisms. » 

The author therefore suggests that lobbyists should look for « new methods for collective learning and compromise building, in a permanent bridge building role, combining (instead of opposing) public and private interests ». 

Dr. Schepers believes that if the EU wants to achieve its two official goals, ie a sustainable economy and keeping itself competitive, it will again « have to adapt its governance systems ». He concludes that there is definitely a potential for a win-win situation for Europe if the transformations mentioned were to succeed. 

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