This guide is written for people who participate in Freedom Not Fear (2024), intend to organise a session during the weekend and then discuss with policy makers about their topic on Monday. But hopefully it is also helpful for other occasions.

Step 0: Become a digital rights advocate

Participate in Freedom not Fear and decide that you want to advocate for digital rights. Congratulations!

Step 1: Identify the type of policy maker you want to engage with

Consider the specific topic you want to speak about and then decide who might be the appropriate person in which institution for your topic. The rest of this guide is written for contacting Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), but parts of it are also applicable to other institutions. Please DO consider policy makers from other institutions, such as the European Commission (and its relevant Directorates General), the permanent representations of the member states or other specialised institutions of the EU.

Step 2: Identify the specific policy maker relevant for your topic

There are a lot of MEPs in the European Parliament (EP) and most likely not all of them are equally relevant for your topic. Most work in the EP is done in the committees. For example if you are concerned about a surveillance related issue, it is most likely that the work on it is happening within LIBE (civil liberties) or IMCO (internal market). However, there are exceptions.
So ask yourself:

• Do you want to advocate about a specific file that already exists? Then consider the rapporteur (lead MEP in charge of organising the work on the file), the shadow rapporteurs (MEPs from the other groups organising the work on the file) and MEPs from the committee(s) working on the file. In some cases you may also want to raise awareness about a file with MEPs that do not usually work on this issue. (e.g. if the work in the committee is done and it will be voted on by all MEPs in the plenary soon)
• Do you want to advocate about a specific policy, that does not yet have a file? Then consider which committees would reasonably be in charge of the topic and which MEPs might have an interest or a connection you could build on (e.g. MEPs who worked on similar topics in the past or who are from your region). Also consider a meeting with someone from the relevant directorate general (DG) of the European Commission (EC): the EC is the only institution that can initiate the process for proposing new laws in the EU. However, MEPs can amend an existing proposal and include new aspects that are reasonably within the scope of the file.
• Do you want to raise awareness about a topic? As with the other points, consider MEPs, the European Commission or representatives from other specialised institutions that may be(come) relevant for you. Also think about what specifically you want from the policy maker: it is nice to have a chat, but presumably you actually want the policy maker to do something. So already consider what the concrete takeaway of the meeting should be.

If you are not only interested in speaking with one specific person only, consider starting a spreadsheet to track the relevant information and your progress with them.

Step 3: Reaching out

Be mindful that policymakers tend to be busy people with full schedules. The earlier you reach out to them, the more likely it is to get a slot in their schedule. Also note that they get a lot of requests for meetings and for that reason alone you might get rejected.
If you get rejected, then it is also possible to ask for a meeting with one of the assistants of the MEP. They may also offer you a meeting with one of the assistants instead of the MEP directly. This is not a bad thing, but a great opportunity. A lot of important policy work is done by the parliamentary assistants / advisors.

Consult the full list of MEPs to get the contact details of them and their assistants.

When you write your first e-mail, you address the MEP directly even though it will probably be their team who handle the e-mail inbox. Explain who you are, what organisation you are part of (if any) and why you want to talk to the MEP and how the topic at hand is relevant to the MEP. If you are a citizen of the country from where the MEP is from, say so.

Keep the e-mail relatively short and try to make it clear that this is not a mass-e-mail but something that is tailored to that MEP. Provide specific dates for a potential meeting.

Step 3b: Follow-up

If you do not get a reply after 7 days, consider making a phone call to the office or send a follow-up e-mail.

Phone calls are more effective than e-mail for getting appointments when you follow-up.

Step 3c: Spontaneous meeting

If you did not manage to schedule a meeting with a specific MEP, you can still try to contact them again the day before or the same day that you are in Brussels. Some MEPs will be happy to meet you spontaneously, because sometimes other obligations get cancelled and their calender is unlikely to be filled with other additional unforeseen appointments and they know that they have time to meet you. However, you should not do this if an MEP has already responded that they do not have time at the requested date and be conscious that it is more likely than not that MEPs will not have time on a short notice, so it is always best to ask early.

Step 4: Confirmed? Arrange meeting details

Once you have secured a meeting, make sure you agree on the specific time and place to meet. It is easiest to ask for their preference.
If the place is inside the European Parliament, then you need to take care of getting in. If you are reading this guide you are probably not registered as a lobbyist, which would give you access to the Parliament building on your own. In that case, you will likely need the MEP(‘s staff) to sign you into the building (which means that you will get accreditation for a one-time entry). MEP staff, likely the APA (= accredited parliamentary assistant), are used to doing that for people who request meetings and can help you. Make sure you have your ID with you, which you will need to show at the entrance / security gate.
If they propose a place that is outside the European Parliament, it is likely one of the Cafés nearby. This is a common practice.
Either way you may want to check the photos in the staff/team section of the MEP’s website, so that you recognise them.

For the sake of Freedom Not Fear, you might want to find allies in a session to take to the meeting with you, even if you don’t yet know who they will be at the time of scheduling the meeting. If you are planning to bring other persons to the meeting, make sure you point that out to the MEP / their staff as early as possible. With a small group of persons (e.g. 2 or 3) it is still possible to have a meaningful and effective meeting. However, the more persons you are, the more complicated it becomes.

Step 5: The meeting

Know what you want to convey in the meeting so that you can use the time effectively. Make sure you are punctual. Prepare an agenda for yourself and try to plan realistically, how to manage the time you have. If you invited other activists from FNF to join the meeting, agree beforehand about a sequence and who wants to talk about which aspects. However, you will still need to be flexible and adapt based on the interests and conversational style of the policymaker you meet.

Try not to use too much jargon, but explain in a clear way, what the topic is, what you want and why it matters. If the MEP or their advisor is working on a file already, they are more likely to be familiar with details of the topic than if you are trying to convince them, why your topic matters. Either way, try to convey why the point you are making is important to them. E.g. build on previous statements and positions of the MEP, surveys that show popular support for your position (they usually want to be re-elected after all) or information that you think would be relevant for them.

Remember to ALWAYS stick to the truth and remain polite. Credibility matters and it is better to say that you don’t know something, than to make something up. You don’t need to know every statistic by heart. Offer to send follow-up information about details the MEP was interested in.

If you have any factsheets or leaflets that contain the most important take-home messages, remember to give them to the MEP at the end. But be aware that they receive a lot of unsolicited information. Keep it as brief as possible. Many prefer to have relevant resources sent by e-mail later.

Step 5b: Debrief

Make sure you note down any details that are important for a follow-up later, such as which statistics they wanted you to send to them afterwards. If you had other activists join you, make a debriefing after the MEP is gone. Talk about what went well and what didn’t. Try to discuss what to do better/differently next time and be kind to each other. Everyone has different levels of experience and we might also have different styles in which we want to do meetings. Remember there is a learning curve for everyone.

Step 6: Follow-up

Send a thank-you note via e-mail and provide any resources or information that you promised during the meeting. If possible use web links instead of large attachments if you are sending a report.

Further resources

EDRi has a detailed guide on EU advocacy.