The strange world of the EU arts lobby

Brussels, the EU capital, is a hotbed of lobbyists, writes David Gow.

There are 15,000, ranging from corporates to NGOs via a host of consultancies set up by ex-commission officials and journalists to peddle the views of special interest groups and, more critically, influence the outcome of the tortuous legislative process.

I've even heard of evidence that lobbyists draft amendments to directives and regulations tabled in their entirety by MEPs, wittingly or unwittingly. Picking their way through this dark, thick forest of claim and counter-claim is the daily task of the 1,400 accredited journalists who can spend from breakfast to dinner going from one briefing to the next conference or seminar - with often meagre results.

Occasionally, an email from a lobbying consultancy sparks genuine interest and anticipation. This week "G-plus" invited us to the formation of Culture First, an alliance of composers, songwriters, actors and film directors battling against a "technocratic onslaught" on copyright - the threatened, not actual, removal of levies on devices used by private citizens to download and store music, films etc. These are then handed back, via collecting societies, to authors and composers.