Unit directors / Division heads / CFO / Line management
We help you secure the tangible and intangible assets that build profit.
EPPA provides guidance to forward-looking companies who seek to shape the marketplace in which they operate. Such market leaders see their public affairs work as an investment in the future; as a proactive way of creating or developing new markets.
We analyse the European political, regulatory and socio-economic landscape with your needs in mind. As a specialised management consultancy with pan-European reach, we can provide the political intelligence required to identify the realistic opportunities the regulatory architecture affords your business.
EPPA guides your organisation through the change in mind-set needed to understand the benefits of a proactive public affairs approach. The organisation must look beyond how changes in a particular regulation will affects sales and instead think about how a regulation could shift the market paradigm.
As companies move forward regulatory change is constantly required: be it because of innovative products which benefit consumers or because of outdated regulation which is inhibiting optimal market performance.
These opportunities can be managed to support market or product innovation and EPPA has an established track record in securing clients’ business needs while respecting political imperatives.
Partner to contact: Julius Waller
Meeting mandatory European assessment and registration procedures provides significant pressure on the bottom-line. Furthermore, as substance approval is not a purely scientific exercise, how can you be sure that your product will meet the approval criteria?
Whether your business is agricultural, chemical, cosmetic, bio-scientific or pharmaceutical, a precise and timely regulatory affairs strategy can make the difference between having your product on the market and having to withdraw it. And that’s where EPPA comes in.
EPPA works with its clients to determine how regulatory requirements can be approached from a broader perspective than mere compliance. Our acknowledged expertise can help you transform established regulatory requirements, such as product stewardship, into business opportunities. EPPA’s consultants generate momentum behind your approval application by placing the debate in an appropriate context, channelling support and by demonstrating your substance’s importance to specific sectors.
Political and regulatory sensitivities vary across Europe. In identifying acceptable compromises, EPPA intuitively appreciates the manner in which these varying currents help to shape the decision-making process, especially in borderline cases, such as for active ingredients.
Our success has been built on our multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural team which has a truly pan-European reach. We build bridges which help you to create a real dialogue with the decision-makers.
Partner to contact: Pascal Michaux
EPPA's trade consultants deal with a wide range of issues relating to trade policy between EU companies and non-EU companies. The EU’s anti-dumping instrument is the most commonly used and well known of the trade defence instruments.
EPPA expertise is employed by both plaintiffs and defendants involved in dumping cases. The Anti-Dumping Regulation imposes strict time limits for the completion of investigations and decision-making, to ensure that complaints are dealt with rapidly and efficiently. The initial examination period is just 45 days. Thereafter harsh provisional measures can be imposed.
EPPA’s in-depth understanding of EU trade policy coupled with our knowledge of the official anti-dumping procedure, allows us to respond rapidly to clients needs and to provide valuable tactical and strategic advice throughout the process.
Partner to contact: Julius Waller, Sharon Leclercq-Spooner
Although anti-trust rules are clearly prescribed by EU law, a straightforward European anti-trust case, acquisition or merger is a rare beast.
Merger approval
In many cases the formal merger approval process is subject to a range of pressures which have a significant bearing on the eventual decisions made. This is especially true in cases which contain an overtly political dimension, for example, a merger concerning a strategic sector or involving one or more high profile entities.
EPPA’s experienced, multi-disciplined competition team will give your case the best chance of success by running a water-tight operation. Understanding political sensitivities is the first step in allaying misplaced fears and ultimately attaining the green light for your merger. We intervene to allow your deal to be understood in its most appropriate context. Our competition service supports your merger team as they prepare for each of the deadlines throughout the merger approval process. EPPA leverages its proximity to national antitrust experts as well as to relevant EU decision-makers to allow for a consistent and compelling communication effort.
Hostile takeovers
EPPA has a particularly impressive record when it comes to defending hostile takeover attempts: we have a one hundred percent success rate. Our inherent understanding of the EU’s competition rules allayed with our receptiveness to political sensitivities has been of invaluable service to our clients in this area of EU competence.
Cartels
Action against cartels is a specific type of EU antitrust enforcement procedure. Exemptions to the normal competition rules are permitted in certain limited circumstances, such as the block exemptions given to certain industries or products. When defending a client, EPPA’s team will help to identify whether there are beneficial market effects of the cartel and how these effects should be communicated. Cartel cases are typically lengthy procedures involving Member State consultation committees. In helping to build your case, EPPA identifies the primary concerns of the various stakeholders in the procedure.
Partner to contact: Julius Waller, Pascal Michaux
EPPA's consultants are experts in the numerous bilateral, regional and multilateral trade negotiations which dictate trading conditions and product sourcing opportunities around the world. We are also finely attuned to the trends and priorities driving the formulation of trade policy and legislation in Europe.
We work closely with our clients to understand their trading environment and to identify the strategic adjustments, be it for tariffs and quotas or other rules and regulations, which could enhance the bottom line of their business. Prior to any formal renegotiations or ahead of any new trade agreements we develop a series of change scenarios to identify the threats and opportunities that different agreements would present for your business.
Having established the strategic priorities, EPPA mobilises support through coalition-building. Our political sensors allow us to coordinate stakeholders with mutual interests when engaging with EU decision-makers. Our intervention and expertise helps to place your trade issue on the European Commission’s negotiation priority list.
Partner to contact: Sharon Leclercq-Spooner, Renato Addis
EPPA's trade consultants deal with issues relating to bilateral, regional and multilateral trade regulation and application. Working closely with our clients, we provide intelligence regarding the rules in place. We analyse potential threats and opportunities in order to identify how to optimise your product sourcing and trading conditions.
We then develop and manage tailor-made strategies to win concessions in trade negotiations and to resolve specific trade issues - at the WTO and bilateral level. We constantly monitor the implementation of existing legislation and WTO trade rules. This allows us to keep our clients up-to-date with the latest changes and informed about the tariffs, quotas and non-tariff barriers in place.