General counsel across Europe came under fire from the European Commission (EC) this week for failing to participate in the debate on future EU policy.

Jonathan Faull, director of justice and home affairs at the EC, told delegates at the Association of Corporate Counsel Europe conference in Prague that he was disappointed by the lack of interest corporate counsel had shown in shaping EC policy.


He said: 'I find it odd that we do not get more input into our thinking and consultation process from the business community and corporate lawyers. When I speak in Washington, there is an obvious business input. I don't get that in Brussels. Both you [corporate counsel] and we [at the commission] are missing out on you having a say on the important issues, which have enormous economic implications.'


He continued: 'What sort of immigration policy do we want for the EU? With declining demographic trends, who is going to pay our pensions? Are we doing enough to police our borders?... These are all areas that you and your employers should be interested in - the impact on the labour market is of considerable importance.'


Mr Faull added that he wanted to hear business lawyers' views on how the different justice systems in Europe should operate together effectively.


He said: 'We are trying to create a system where civil and criminal judgements are enforced with little further ado in other EU countries. Evidence will be made available to prosecutors in another country, subject to data protection and human rights.'


He continued: 'More and more Europeans live in another country from the one in which they were born. How far should we go in bringing about some degree of harmonisation between our civil and common law systems to bring recognition of decisions in other jurisdictions?


'It is important that the legal community should be playing a part in the discussions - it should not be left to bureaucrats in Brussels.'