The European Public Affairs Consultancies’ Association (EPACA), the representative trade body for public affairs consultancies working with EU institutions, announces the launch of the e-learning tool on its Code of Conduct. The tool provides practical information and describes scenarios that will help to understand the Code and how to adhere to it in real life situations, and allows EPACA members and their staff to test their knowledge online.

With the e-tool, EPACA continues in its work to foster honest, transparent and positive engagement with decision makers in Brussels. Though such informational and educational materials are primarily designed for its members, EPACA strives to lead by example, promoting best practices which contribute to an EU policymaking environment where the work of public affairs consultancies is valued and trusted.

“We are delighted to launch this e-tool, which comes after months of coordinated work among our members, and is aimed at ensuring that public affairs professionals of every level are fully up-to-date and engaged with the state-of-the art transparency rules in the industry. With increasing numbers of virtual meetings taking place as a result of COVID-19, it is ever important that the core principles of transparency and integrity be respected, ensuring ethical interactions between policymakers and interest representatives, and we are proud of our ongoing work towards this,” commented Isabelle De Vinck, Chairwoman of EPACA.

While signing the Code of Conduct is mandatory in order to become member of EPACA, and compliance is enforced via an independent complaints mechanism, this tool aims to educate consultants with varying levels of experience on how to implement the Code in their daily work using real-life scenarios and practical examples.

“We believe this is a pertinent time to launch our tool aimed at ensuring that transparency and our own Code of Conduct are upheld in all interactions with EU policy makers, in light of increased remote working and virtual meetings. We are happy to be continually training our members in this regard, and look forward to hosting a webinar on the tool  in the coming weeks,” concluded De Vinck.