HOW WE WORK WITH OUR MEMBERS
General Assembly
The full membership meets once a year in the configuration of the General Assembly, the highest-level decision-making body, to adopt long-term strategies and annual work programmes and budgets.
Council and Board
Consisting of some 30 national members, up to 10 European network representatives and up to six other individuals, the Council meets twice a year to discuss and provide input to EEB documents and policies on horizontal topics as well as to provide feedback from the broader membership. The Board, consisting of up to 12 invividuals, is the highest decision-making body under the General Assembly. It normally meets at least four times a year. All Board members are 'ex officio' members of the Council. Council and Board meetings are chaired by the EEB President.
Working Groups
We have a dedicated Working Group for many of the environmental issues that we cover. Most Working Groups meet once or twice a year to develop EEB policies and
strategies and for debates with policy makers and invited experts. The EEB works to promote our members’ demands at European and global level. In between meetings, we use mailing lists to facilitate information exchange, discussions, monitoring of policy developments and the organisation of campaign and lobby work.
Supported by the EEB Team
The EEB Brussels team is comprised of more than 80 staff members working on policy, communications, project management, campaigning, finance and administration.
THE CENTRAL ROLE OF OUR WORKING GROUPS
The EEB Working Groups play a central role in the daily work of the EEB. They are the primary forum through which EEB members collaborate with each other on substantive issues.
To be effective, close co-operation and the exchange of information between the EEB and its member organisations is crucial. The Working Groups bring together environmentalists from all over Europe to discuss the priorities set by EEB members in the organisation’s medium-term strategy and annual work programmes. The Working Groups allow members to agree EEB’s policy positions and develop joint strategies to influence policies at a national, European and international level. They also facilitate the sharing of best practice, meetings with policy experts and allow participants to keep up to date with the latest political developments in Brussels and around Europe.
Full EEB members can join as many Working Groups as they like. Working groups typically meet once or twice a year and use collaborative tools to work together during the rest of the year. They are usually coordinated by a member of the EEB staff. The EEB generally contributes towards travel and accommodation costs for one participant per country to attend the Working Group meetings, though it may cover more or less depending on the budget available for the specific topic.
Organisations interested in membership are encouraged to join one or two of the EEB’s Working Groups for a three-month trial period. Joining a Working Group is the best way to better understand how the EEB works.
Learn more about our Working Groups on our decidated Working Group page!
