EU public affairs: The growing role of NGOs in the decision making process

This paper was prepared for presentation to the workshop on ‘The Developing EU — Institutional Changes and Enlargement’ at the Fifth International Public Relations Research Symposium, Bled, 10th–12th July, 1998. The paper presents an analysis and description of non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) represented by offices in Brussels in the form of both alliances and groups. It looks at the NGOs' role in EU policy formation, environmental activists, consumers', human and citizens' rights, animal welfare and the implications for public affairs.