Brussels Project

Last summer Caroline Lucas MEP spoke to the Environmental Funders Group, a grouping of the major UK trusts supporting environmental work, about the need for a stronger focus for social change organisations on working in Brussels. She feels that the majority of environmental legislation, and a good proportion of human rights legislation, is now made in Brussels. However whilst there are around 15,000 corporate lobbyists in Brussels there are few campaign groups present.

The aim of establishing a centre for social change groups would be to:

Provide an affordable, informal, flexible and supportive base for these groups so they could work in Brussels more effectively
To reduce isolation and encourage the exchange of ideas and resources between groups based in Brussels
To encourage new groups to move into Brussels and to encourage grant-makers to support them
To provide a platform for the delivery of further support services to groups
To enable the Global South to get better access to the EU

It is intended that the centre would be trans-European in its occupancy as well as its focus. It is therefore imagined, pending further research, that tenants would represent groups across Europe working in Brussels, most probably from Britain, The Netherlands, Scandinavia, Eastern European and other countries. The centre would also look to support Global South groups and activity.