Slides of workshop on EU negotiations in UK HMT, London February, April and May - with Jon Worth

1. EU Negotiation Training
Alejandro Ribo & Jon Worth

2. Winnie the Pooh was sitting at home one day,
counting his pots of honey, when there was a
knock at the door. It was Rabbit.
‘Hello, Pooh,’ said Rabbit. ‘I’ve come to take your
honey away.’
‘Oh,’ said Pooh. ‘Whatever for?’
‘Because I had a Busy Day yesterday. Important
Things happened. I decided honey is Bad for you.
And I’ve written out this Directive, and everyone
agreed, and so there we are.’
‘I didn’t agree,’ said Pooh in a small voice.
‘Too late for that now,’ said Rabbit. ‘Owl wrote it
out in the OJ. And Christopher Robin’s ratified it
by the necessary majority.’
‘I suppose,’ said Pooh, ‘this just shows what
happens to Bears of Very Little Brain!’
‘Negotiating in the European Union’, James Humphreys

3. Session 1
Introductions

4. experience (in pairs)
• Describe a negotiation experience
– 1. What happened?
– 2. What did you feel?
– 3. What would you do differently?

5. the best (in groups)
• 5 keywords describing the
best five elements for
negotiation e.g. resources,
skills, ideas...

6. Negotiations
" ... (it) is a basic means of getting what you
want from others. It is back-and-forth
communication designed to reach an
agreement when you and the other side
have some interests that are shared and
others that are opposed.”
(R. Fisher, W. Ury: 1981)

7. Session 2
Introduction to Negotiations
(requires Prezi, cannot print)

8. Session 3
The SPACE model of negotiation
(requires Prezi, cannot print)

9. Session 4
Tactics, strategies and cultures

10. Take-Off : Prenegotiation
1. Agreement About Need To Negotiate
2. Search For Agenda
3. Agree On Set Of Principles & Objectives
4. Agree On Rules Of Conduct
5. Explore The Field

11. Cruising : Negotiation
6. Narrow Differences
7. Agree On A Formula - In Principle
8. Preliminaries To Final Phase Of
Decision-Making
9. Claiming : Carving Up

12. Landing : Implementation
10. Agree On Implementation Details
11. Ritualize Outcome
12. Execute Outcome / Agreement
***** Create Context For “Renegotiation”

13. Strategies & Tactics
A. Integrative/cooperative
• Step-by-step
• Linkages
• Package deals
• Smoke-screen
B. Distributive/contending/positional
• Defection
• Tit-for-tat
– Salami
– Moves

14. “Behavioural” tactics
– Anchoring
– Bad/Good Guy
– Higher Authority
– Hot Potato
– Nibbling
– The Other Buyer
– Big Favour, Little Favour
– Splitting The Difference

15. ?

16. "without communication there is
no negotiation”
(Fisher and Ury, 1981: 33)
"in essence, international
negotiation is communication”
(Stein, 1988: 222)

17. communication

19. communication
information
knowledge

20. cognitive advantage

21. “Better information gives a more
accurate idea of where the zone
of possible agreement lies”
(Carnevale, 1986: 253)

23. information management

24. language

25. formal/informal

26. written/unwritten

27. documents
proposal
treaties
EP report
council’s rules of procedure
agenda

28. during negotiation
written proposals
interventions
conversations
questions / answers
information gathering

29. value - credibility - authority

31. authority

33. expertise

34. process expertise
(leadership and
negotiating skills)
content expertise
(technical knowledge of
the subject matter)
(Wall & Lynn, 1993)

35. leadership

36. sherpa

38. challenges
(problems)

39. maps
(summaries)

40. paths
(solutions)

41. negotiating
skills

42. preparation

43. listen
ask
write
notes
review

44. build networks
relations with chair
identify leaders
alliances
corridor diplomacy

45. focus on
interests ≠
positions

46. logic

47. emotions

48. emotional
intelligence

49. awareness

50. story teller

51. self

52. us

53. now

54. culture

56. does culture matter?

58. under which
conditions?

59. conditions
degree of dissimilarity
new relationships
essential interests, less culture
intensity of the conflict - one shot, bilateral
encounters vs. complex, multilateral, long
lasting

60. effects
actors (perception)
structure (frameworks)
strategy (interests and values)
process (behaviour)

61. to do’s
Learn the other side’s culture
Don’t stereotype, no “cultural robots”
Bridge the gap using the other’s culture
Help the other to become familiar with your
culture
Combine both cultures
Resort to a third culture

62. Session 5
Structure of international
and EU negotiations

63. international negotiations

64. 193

65. from sovereign partners meet to find a
joint and mutually acceptable solution to
a dispute...

67. ...to more complex, multilateral,
multidimensional, lengthier processes

68. negotiation as the continuation of national
foreign policy or...

69. ...common problem solving

70. a permanent form of diplomatic activity
with established and recognized locations

77. models of negotiation
traditional: highly formal, official sessions
with diplomats. specific instructions.
bargaining. binding agreement,
alternative: informal, working sessions.
governmental and non-governmental
experts / standing committees.
recommendations. joint problem solving
or brainstorming. advice and guidelines.

78. EU negotiations

79. Scope
Single Issue Multi-issue Wide scope
Participants
Bilateral Channel Tunnel Poland/Ukraine France/Germany
European Space Nordic Council
Restricted Multilateral European Union
Agency G7/8
World Trade
Extended Multilateral Council of Europe United Nations
Organization
Source: Wallace & Hayes-Renshaw, 2006

80. Setting
Weak rules Limited rules Strong rules
Intensity
Occasional or time
Channel Tunnel
limited
Poland/Ukraine Nordic Council
Medium frequency Council of Europe World Trade
G7/8 Organization
European Space
Very frequent United Nations European Union
Agency
Source: Wallace & Hayes-Renshaw, 2006

81. restricted multilateral
wide scope
very frequent
strong rules

82. club
‘continuous negotiation’
institutions
rules and norms

83. cleavages
issues
north-south
east-west
policy-driven (e.g. CAP)

84. community method

85. legislative acts
directives
regulations
decisions
opinions & recommendations

86. Stages of the Legislative Process
Green Papers, White Papers, Annual Work
Plans, Communications
Commission drafts Commission Expert Groups
Directive
Directive published
Codecision Council Working Groups
Directive agreed
Implementation Comitology Committees

88. Co-decision (OLP) 1st Reading deal
Commission publishes
Committee(s)
draft Directive
Working Groups,
and Plenary COREPER,
Simple Council
majority European Parliament Council accepts QMV
amends Parliament amendments
FTT Proposal
• Art 113 – unanimity
• Consultation with the EP
Directive agreed

89. Co-decision (OLP) 2nd Reading deal
Commission publishes
Committee(s)
draft Directive
Working Groups,
and Plenary COREPER,
Simple Council
majority European Parliament Council rejects QMV
amends Parliament amendments
Common Position
Committee(s) Working Groups,
and Plenary COREPER,
Absolute Council
majority European Parliament Council accepts QMV
amends Parliament amendments
Directive agreed

90. Co-decision (OLP) 3rd Reading deal
Commission publishes
Committee(s)
draft Directive
Working Groups,
and Plenary COREPER,
Simple Council
majority European Parliament Council rejects QMV
amends Parliament amendments
Common Position
Committee(s) Working Groups,
and Plenary COREPER,
Absolute Council
majority European Parliament Council rejects QMV
amends Parliament amendments
27 MEPs, 27 MS,
Commission
Conciliation
Prepared by
trialogue
Directive agreed 3rd Reading

91. Council Hierarchy
A points: agreement already
Whitehall B points: discussion
UK Permanent Council
Representation (UKrep)
COREPER I / II
i points: agreement already
Ii points: discussion
Working groups

92. Population of EU Member States
80
70
60
50
40
30
Population (millions)
20
10
0
Italy
Spain Latvia Malta
France Poland Greece Sweden Denmark Ireland Slovenia
Austria Cyprus
Germany Romania Belgium Hungary Bulgaria Finland
Portugal Slovakia Lithuania Estonia
Netherlands Luxembourg
United Kingdom Czech Republic

93. Voting Weights of EU Member States
Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) From 2014 / 2017?
30
• 345 votes, 255 required for • 55% of
majority Member
States
25 • Simple majority of member
states (i.e. 14) • 65% of the
20 EU
• States representing 62% of
population
the EU’s population
15
Numbers of Votes
10
5
0
Italy
Spain Latvia Malta
France Poland Greece Sweden Denmark Ireland Slovenia
Austria Cyprus
Germany Romania Belgium Hungary Bulgaria Finland
Portugal Slovakia Lithuania Estonia
Netherlands Luxembourg
United Kingdom Czech Republic

94. Key Players: Commission
• Commissioners
• Cabinets
(Chef de Cabinet,
Deputy Chef)
• Directors General
• Heads of Unit
• Desk Officers

95. Key Players: Parliament
• Rapporteur
• UK MEPs
• Group coordinators
• MEPs’ assistants
• Parliament Secretariat

96. council
commission
EU institutions
member states
parliament
lobbies
multilevel NGOs
networks
interest
groups
pan-european
organizations

97. Session 6
Briefing for Negotiations

98. ‘Briefing is the process of selecting and presenting
info to enable someone else to understand a
particular subject quickly without having to
research it themselves’
Accurate
Brief
Clear

99. Relevance
• Who am I briefing?
• If I were them…
- What would I know already?
- What would I want to know?
• Big picture – why are we doing this?
What’s this for? Need a clear objective
• Must, shoulds and coulds

100. Length
• Alarm bells every time you start
a new page, 2 pages max
• Say it once
• If this paragraph were drowning…
• 15-20 words per sentence

101. Structure
By failing to plan, you’re planning to fail
Amount of reluctance to plan=Amount of need to plan
• First things first
• Post-it notes
• Past, Present, Future
• All the Ps – position, problem, purpose,
possibilities, proposal
• Who, what, when, where, why, how

102. Format
• Presentation will determine whether reader
wants to read it or not
• Use lots of white space –
paragraphs help retention
• Headings and sub-headings to
guide the reader through the structure
• Number the paragraphs and the pages
• Use bullet points and bold where appropriate
• Top lines of paragraphs are key
• Avoid footnotes

103. Language
• Use plain English, the language of
conversation – if you wouldn’t say it, don’t
write it: www.plainenglish.co.uk
• Avoid jargon/technical language, long
words, unexplained acronyms,
abbreviations, and abstract language
Statistics show that this policy has achieved a paradigm
shift of intervention.
We’re getting food and water to the world’s poorest people.

104. Come to an agreement =
Make a decision =
The horror of Encourage the participation of =
nominalisations Have capability =
Make arrangements =
Facilitate the provision of =
Afford an opportunity =
Give consideration to =
Is in accordance with =
Is of the opinion =
Have a discussion =
Engage in dialogue =

105. Be concise
As a consequence of =
Due to the fact that =
In the majority of cases = For the purpose of =
In the event that = In conjunction with =
With the exception of = May in the future =
An absence of = On numerous occasions =
At the present time = Subsequent to =
By means of = That being the case =
Costs the sum of = The question as to whether =
Despite the fact that = Until such time as =
During which time = With the minimum of delay =

106. Use active language
• I shot the sheriff
• The sheriff was shot by me
• Knowledge and information
should be shared
• Climate change should be integrated into
development policy

108. Contact Information
Alejandro Ribo Jon Worth
aribolabastida@gmail.com jon@jonworth.eu
http://alejandroribo.com/ http://jonworth.eu/
Twitter: @aribo Twitter: @jonworth

109. Additional Slides
(for reference)

110. Building networks
• Having an established network of contacts in the Brussels machine will prepare
the ground for future negotiations - you never know when you might need it
• Attend Brussels working groups/meetings of national experts, invite others to
London, and visit them in their capitals.*
• Establish personal rapport – walk round the table and introduce yourself, have a
supply of business cards to hand, and make an effort to speak other languages
• Use “the margins” of meetings to maintain contact, shore up your support, etc.
Make the most of your time in Brussels.
• Where you can, attend EU-focused conferences and events, to establish your
presence as part of the expert community.
• Once established, keep in touch regularly – phone, e-mail and in person - don’t
wait until you have a problem before getting in touch – it’s obvious if you only call
when you want something!
• And if others know your position and trust your expertise, it’s more likely that
they will come to you too.
•*If visiting Brussels / other capitals, always remember to work closely with UKRep / FCO & relevant British Embassy

111. Approaching the EU Institutions
•“Open door” policy
•Currency of Brussels is information
•Key is right person, right issue, right timing
•Get to know key individuals at all levels of
organisation
•Visibility (face to face) builds credibility – not just
there when there’s a problem
•Send in the big guns sparingly, showing seriousness of issue
•Understand the EU approach – praise positives, propose
solutions for problems, europeanise the issue
•A voice in harmony with others is more effective: what are your
opposites doing? How are you helping them?
•Don’t be shy – everybody’s at it

112. Top Players’ techniques
•Europeanise the issue Timing
•Access at the right level, not just Available/ present at key
the top level moments
•Seeing people face to face not Making imaginative proposals
just writing Paper has power
•Working out other people’s
Persistence
motivations
•Ongoing relationships Aware of own role in shaping
events
•Use expertise
•Use networks
•Socialising…

113. Drawing up a timetable
• Project plan?
• Likely timing for each stage of the negotiation –
prepare for slippage
• Dates of WGs, Councils, EP plenaries
• Consulting on your negotiating position internally and externally
• Meetings with the Commission, MEPs and their assistants, other
Member States, Council Secretariat, potential allies etc. – but
timing is everything…
• Alternative routes
• Revisit your objectives regularly – ‘It is a monster I have created,
an abomination! But I cannot destroy it!’

114. Regulatory impact assessments
• You should carry out an IA when negotiating a piece of
legislation or an agreement that will have to be implemented in
the UK
• European Commission itself also carries out assessment of
the social, environmental and economic impacts of proposals,
but across the whole EU, so is reliant on data from its
stakeholders - Member States, NGOs and business
• The Commission carries out Enhanced Impact Assessments
if an area is particularly complex/technical/controversial
• UK officials should encourage other Member States and
external stakeholders to influence the Commission to produce
well-assessed proposals, based on effective consultation

115. Consultation
• Identify who needs to be consulted
• Consider what the consultees will want from the process
• Establish the necessary procedures, being realistic about available
resources
• Explain the implications of proposals and options, and to canvass views
on them to help formulate your position
 what is being proposed
 the likely timetable for negotiations
 the scope for amendments (i.e. don’t panic)
 how to make views known
 what else consultees can do, including lobbying the EU institutions

116. Main factors determining progress
of a proposal through the Council
• Urgency of proposal
• Controversiality of proposal and support/opposition amongst the
member states
• Extent to which Commission has tailored its texts to accommodate
national objections/reservations at the pre-proposal stage
• Complexity of the proposal’s provisions
• Ability of the Commission to allay doubts
• Judgements made by Commission on whether or when it should
accept modifications to its proposals – unanimity required to override
Commission objections to amendments
• Competence of the Presidency
• Agility and flexibility of the participants to devise and accept
compromises
• Availability of, and willingness of the states to use, majority voting

117. Practicalities
• Avoid discussing work on the Eurostar….
• WG meetings held in Justus Lipsius
• Usually called for 10am, but rarely start on time –
worth arriving early to look at new documents,
talk to UKRep, Council Secretariat, other Member
States, and the Presidency
• Ensure you take the meeting notice, existing legislation, the latest
texts of proposals under discussion, reports of previous meetings,
anything that could be used as a precedent in support of your case,
and relevant telephone numbers
• ‘Chairman’ or ‘Mr/Madam Chairman’
• Remove earphones before addressing the meeting, but don’t put it
too near the microphone…
• Press the switch on the base of the microphone to speak – don’t
make any asides until the microphone is switched off!
• To make an intervention, stand your flag on end and wait for the
Chairman to call you

118. Drawing up your negotiating box
Ideal position: the best deal which you can expect and
justify
Realistic position: points at which you would expect a
reasonable settlement
Fall-back position: point beyond which you cannot go
without consulting your constituency

119. Negotiating in WGs – the dos
• Preparation, preparation, preparation
• Work the margins - corridor diplomacy
• Listen actively and look for hidden signals about possible
compromises and real sticking-points
• Keep a full note of each meeting, and play on
inconsistencies/ contradictions in others’ positions
•Circulate suggested amendments on paper as well as orally,
before the point is discussed, and offer your impartial
linguistic skills to help the Presidency draft a compromise in
English
• Build and nurture alliances, think long-term
• Review your alliances and tactics frequently (refocus at start
of the endgame), and keep in close contact with UKRep
• Build good relations with the Presidency, the next
Presidency, Commission and Council Secretariat
• Keep a poker-face and use open questions to let others
reveal themselves
• Use the Commission’s Explanatory Memorandum as a
source of quotes

120. Making interventions with impact
• Europeanise the issue
• Use your negotiating capital wisely – prioritise and let minor points go,
slipstream other delegations
• Announce the type of statement you’re about to make, e.g. ‘Let me make a
suggestion…’, ‘I’d just like to ask a couple of questions about that…’
• Build up to a statement of disagreement with reason and explanation
• Develop others’ positions to include your wishes and present the advantages
others would gain from your [creative] solution
• Be measured, clear and concise, putting over a small number of points
• Draw on real life, common sense, and concrete examples
• Speak clearly and slowly (particularly figures), repeating key phrases
• Say how many points you’re going to make and number them
off as you make them
• Avoid acronyms, irony, sarcasm, metaphors,
understatement, colloquialisms, cricketing jokes…
• Build a relationship with the interpreters
• Pause if others are chatting whilst you’re making your intervention

121. When to make an intervention
• If your intervention will help the Presidency to reach
agreement, tell them before the point comes up
•Get in early if you want to…
• steer the debate along particular lines
• convince waverers
• head off counter-proposals or spoil someone else’s
intervention
• support the Presidency’s compromise proposal
• set out some important material considerations
•Come in late if you…
• Think others will make your points for you
• Want to hear the arguments of others first so you can counter them
• Think you may pick up something intelligent from another delegation

122. Negotiating – the don’ts
• Make immediate counter-proposals
• Dilute a good case with weak subsidiary arguments
• Become emotional/use emotive language
• Use irritators, e.g. ‘With respect’, ‘I’m trying to be
reasonable about this’, ‘Obviously..’ etc.
• Incur intervention fatigue
• Make concessions too early or too easily
• Overbid
• Deal from the bottom of the pack
• Reveal your fallback position
• Go below your fallback position

123. Briefing for Council – the basics
• The Presidency and Council Secretariat produce a document a few days prior to Council,
summarising outstanding issues which Ministers will need to resolve
• Debate will follow the arrangement in this Secretariat note, so your brief should also
follow this order
• Must include:
 If long/complex, an index
 A summary of overall position on the negotiation
 The likely position of other significant member states
 Speaking notes
 Background to the proposal
 Latest estimate of costs and benefits, and any areas of uncertainty
 Detail on each remaining questions
 Any potential pitfalls, with defensive material
 Key statements or texts from earlier drafts, decisions of previous Councils, or
declarations from European Councils
 Contact names and phone numbers, in case of unforeseen developments

124. Briefing for Council – top tips
Your Minister may be very unfamiliar with the EU’s
procedures and terminology, and the complex
technicalities of the dossier – work hard for clarity
Ensure your Minister’s negotiating position is agreed
across Whitehall and with UKRep, and that it finds the
right balance between being ambitious and realistic
Spell out precisely any fall-back positions and
contingencies, and provide alternative or successive
speaking notes
If not present, ensure you are on the end of a phone,
even late at night
However well prepared the brief, be ready to update
and revise in the last few hours before Council and
even on the day
Don’t forget the media – Brussels press corps and
lines to take

125. UK and EU lobbying
Good… Not so good…
• Often already have • Often already have legislation in
legislation in place, so deep place, so a position to defend and
expertise opinion on everything
•100+ staff in UKRep • Don’t tend to speak other
languages
• English-speakers…
• British under-represented in the
• Very coordinated, both
Commission Services
internally and externally
• Public opinion, media
• British well-represented in
Cabinets • Geography
• Large member state • Ministerial engagement
• Creative compromise • Lack of EU knowledge

126. Lobbying dos
• Get in early!!
• Praise the positives, propose solutions, europeanise the issue
• Think creatively - develop others’ positions to include your wishes and
present the advantages others would gain from your solution
• Key message – know what you can and want to say
• Clarity – make sure you understand and are understood
• Supporting arguments – have facts and explanations ready to support your
position; anticipate counter arguments
• Put it in writing – if possible, give your contact something in writing,
especially if you are agreeing wording, etc
• Right person, right issue, right timing – get to know key individuals at all
levels of organisation, use big guns sparingly
• Keep in touch regularly – phone, e-mail and in person – visibility builds
credibility
• Make the most of time in Brussels - use “the margins” of meetings to
maintain contact, shore up support, etc.