How to survive cocktails season

A weekly newsletter on campaigning, lobbying and political influence in the EU.
By ELISA BRAUN
Tips, tales, traumas to @elisabraun or [email protected] | View in your browser
Are you feeling well and rested? It’s that time of year when Brussels will soon be abuzz with schmoozing at events dedicated to grabbing a new commissioner’s number, getting an MEP to pay attention to your causes, meeting your new love interest (who works for a competitor!) — and all the while everyone is drinking and eating petits fours with only one hand. You’ll find your essential survival guide for the season, with top tips from the bubble’s experts, at the end of this newsletter.
But before that we’re talking about:
— The weird dance behind Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s arrest
— The lucrative ‘business of access’ of Eurofi, a financial think tank with an opaque role in EU policy-making
IT DID NOT GO WELL. What happens when you’re a Russian-born French-Emirati billionaire behind a communication platform used by very powerful and dangerous people, who gets arrested straight out of a private jet near Paris? Well, things get messy.
What’s this all about? Pavel Durov, the CEO of Telegram and holder of multiple passports, faces serious charges in the wake of his bombshell arrest last Saturday. As my ace French colleague Océane Herrero found out in exclusive documents, they include “complicity in possessing, distributing, offering or making available pornographic images of minors, in an organized group.” And the police are also going after key people within his company. Read our story here.
Diplomatic puzzle. A weird dance happened as both Russia — his motherland— and the UAE — where he lives — requested consular access to Durov while he was on bail. He denied those requests, according to two people familiar with the case who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely. 
Why it matters: For those not familiar with the French justice system (how dare you!), a suspect can decline consular help primarily for two reasons, a lawyer and a judge told me: either because they don’t want it (obviously), or because they’re pushed to deny it as it is part of top-level negotiations. 
If you want to add more spice, reports surfaced about Durov’s meetings with Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée, and the Emiratis and the French spying on his phone, making it the almost perfect sauce for a great big bowl of conspiracy theories.
Behind the scenes, the news circulated that the UAE has frozen the purchase of 80 fighter jets from France over the arrest of Durov, which was part of “a huge pro-Kremlin disinformation operation that churns out fake videos in the name of mainstream outlets,” a BBC reporter said. Asked about that, a UAE spokesperson declined to comment.
So far, the UAE has a line that is as close as it gets to a no comment, telling my colleague Victor Goury-Laffont: “We are in touch with the French authorities about this case and Pavel Durov’s representatives.” Russia, on the other hand, said it had offered “all the necessary assistance and support” to Durov, while unironically condemning a “direct attempt to restrict freedom of communication” and intimidation.
EUROFI RAKES IN €6M IN FEES TO BECOME ONE OF BIGGEST LOBBIES: Eurofi, an opaque self-styled “think tank” that offers businesses access to EU politicians and regulators, has raked in almost €6 million in fees from the finance industry this year, fueling concerns about lack of transparency and cash-for-influence over financial policymaking, my colleague Hannah Brenton reports.
This tiny detail: Senior members of the European Parliament with influential roles in financial legislation disclosed Eurofi paid for their stays at swish hotels and some of their travel. EU officials are down to attend in force at a Eurofi conference in Budapest in September, including big names like French Central Bank Governor François Villeroy de Galhau, European Investment Bank President Nadia Calvino and European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis.
More expensive than a Taylor Swift concert. Those names, and other influential policymakers, attract hundreds of lobbyists, who are set to descend on Budapest from September 11-13. Eurofi’s unusual setup is funded by the industry with a base membership of €50,000, but it has only three full-time staff and no publicly available accounts. Read Hannah’s story in full here (for subscribers).
HOW TO HANDLE TOO MANY COCKTAILS? By taking the right amount of ibuprofen, obviously. But more seriously, we have asked public affairs professionals in the EU bubble what are their top tips for this weird moment of the year when something that should be very informal (having drinks with people) becomes a top work concern for those who are in the influence biz. Obviously there’s no perfect way to do it and everyone chooses what suits them best, so if you’re an introverted advocacy professional, a lazy lobbyist or just a tired person, no sweat, you do you.
1. Think long term. “It’s not a cocktail season but a pre-Christmas bloc,” said Connor Allen, one of the POLITICO 40 influencers who said thinking like this helps relieve the pressure — especially if you’re having a bad week or are sick. It’s important, he said, to know that you’ll get other chances to socialize. 
2. Pace yourself: If you have to go to Strasbourg two to three times a month in September to meet with lawmakers, it’s perhaps best not to accept too many invites in the first weeks because of FOMO. “It’s easy to feel low on your KPIs” if you try and cram everything into one week, said Allen. But if you “look at it over a period of three months” that allows you to “have a slow week sometimes,” he added. Slow and steady wins the race!
3. Pick your battles: Are you trying to meet new people in general, get a person’s contact details, find another job or simply eat free food? Might be worth defining your goals before going and adjusting your strategy, dress code and general vibe accordingly.
4. Bring some allies. “Always ask some friends if they are going to an event, especially if you’re shy, you can use them as anchors,” said Gianluigi Vona (known as Gigi), a consultant and one of the directors of the Young Professionals in Digital Policy network. Another pro tip for shy people: Get there early. It’s easier to approach others when there are not too many folks around.
5. Work on your icebreakers. “You get the easiest icebreaker with the holidays, it’s easy to get people excited talking about that,” Gigi added. I know it’s a cliché but I always try saying something about food or wine around the buffet or simply introduce myself with a big smile. It’s not always that complicated, which brings us to…
6. Don’t overthink it. “It can be overwhelming, you don’t always get invited, it’s sometimes way too formal: don’t overthink it. You’ll still have plenty of opportunities,” said Gigi. Don’t go too hard on fake flattery, wear comfortable clothes that make you feel confident — Brussels has no fashion police anyway. 
8. Start fishing for the next big thing. “One of the best tips is fishing for the next event by asking people if they’ve seen something interesting in the next days,” said Gigi. You can also ask people what’s keeping them busy to get a sense of big trends and then move on to Brussels’ top priority: complaining about the weather.
A LOBBYISTS’ WATCHDOG AS A PM. The name of Didier Migaud, who heads the French authority for transparency in public life (HATVP) has floated around in Paris as a potential prime minister. A former socialist politician, Migaud made his reputation advocating for budgetary orthodoxy, which doesn’t exactly make him an icon for the Left. 
“It could be a good way to get rid of him at the HATVP,” said a senior French official jokingly. Migaud is also seen as quite orthodox when it comes to public-private moves within Macron’s ranks, where many still resent him for blocking their career plans.
QATARGATE’S EPILOGUE OR NEW SEASON. Mark the date on your agenda if you are still interested in this saga (like us and our colleagues from Le Soir): September 24 will be the day when the main suspects’ attempt to derail the case will succeed — and kill the case — or revive investigators’ passion to go after them once and for all. For now, the suspects have failed to get the investigative judge in charge of the case ejected. 
WANTED: ITALIAN WOMEN AGAINST CORRUPTION. The Group of States against Corruption (also known as GRECO) is not only concerned about corruption in Italy. It is also noticing low representation of women, especially at managerial levels in law enforcement. Women represented only 11 percent of inspectors in the Guardia di Finanza, the elite corp fighting financial crime, a recent report shows.
The reason: “This was explained … by the fact that women were allowed into the armed forces only since 2000 and that career advancement is largely dependent on seniority,” the GRECO report reads. But the percentage of female staff is also low in the state police, which GRECO sees as a risk as “ it contributes to avoiding groupthink and in turn corruption.”
**Join us at POLITICO’s Health Care Summit on November 19-20 in Brussels to engage with top policymakers and industry leaders on the future of European health care. Don’t miss this opportunity to shape the dialogue and forge impactful connections. Apply now to join us onsite!**
— Brands are so scared of culture wars and controversy that it’s ripping apart the media business (Business Insider) 
— The global power of Big Agriculture’s lobbying (Financial Times)
DIPLOMACY
Antoine Guéry, media adviser to the French foreign affairs minister, is moving back to Brussels at the French Permanent Representation to the EU, where he will be a spokesperson, as first reported by La Lettre. The job, previously held by Jean-Noël Ladois, was not filled for a year. Guéry, who told us he will start on Sept. 9, said he was back to his “two loves: my boyfriend and Europe.”
Christine Cassiers has concluded her posting at the EU delegation in Israel. She will start a new position at the EU delegation to Morocco on Sept. 1.
Mark Reichwein has started as deputy head of mission for the Netherlands in Slovakia. He was previously Human Rights Counselor at the Permanent Mission of the Netherlands to the United Nations.
Rachel Herp Tausendfreund has joined the German Council on Foreign Relations as a U.S. expert.
Vincent Guérend, former French ambassador to Ireland, starts his new post as director for European Union at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 
CONSULTANCIES
Unna Löppönen joined Fourtold as a consultant, with a focus on communications and media in the sustainability space. She previously served as communications coordinator at the Permanent Representation of Finland to the EU. 
EU INSTITUTIONS
Matthew Tabone was appointed head of Parliament President Roberta Metsola’s cabinet. He is taking over from Leticia Zuleta De Reales Ansaldo who has taken up a post as director for relations with national parliaments within the European Parliament.
IN MEMORIAM
Sveto Trajkovski, policy officer at the External Relations Section of the European Economic and Social Committee, passed away after a serious illness. He was 57.
Un grand merci à: Océane Herrero, Victor Goury-Lafond, our amazing sources, Šejla Ahmatović, my editor Paul Dallison and the Ronettes’s drums.
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