Airstrip One

Forum Europe - 12th September 2003, 15.55

What are the lobby groups that influence the integrationist agenda in Europe? One is Forum Europe, a lobbying group designed to promote long-term projects that will aid "the needs of big business" in the European Union. Their daughter projects are the 'New Defence Agenda', the ASEAN-EU Business Network and the Euro 50 group.

The 'New Defence Agenda' was launched in 2002 by Chris Patten, Lord Robertson, and Javier Solana. It was designed as a thinktank to promote an EU "rapid reaction force" that complemented NATO and to bolster European cooperation with the United States. Their promotional guff is on a pdf file here.

The last is an elite forum to promote the single currency:

Forum Europe is proud to have been associated with the launch in 1999 by former French finance minister Edmond Alphandéry of the Euro 50 Group. It brings together some 50 senior political leaders, former central bankers and finance ministers, financial and business leaders and economic journalists to act as a discussion forum on issues relating to EMU and the introduction of the euro and to look at the political consequences.

Forum Europe is one of the leading groups organising debates and platforms on various European issues. It is led by Giles Merritt, of the International Herald Tribune and formerly at the Financial Times. Last year, it was providing institutional space for the British defence agenda within the European Union.