What EURIM is and is not

EURIM is not a lobbying group and no member should join for that purpose as it would be counter-productive.  Members use EURIM as a neutral venue in which they can work together to find consensus on difficult issues in discussions on policy.  Where there is consensus EURIM will work to help secure political priority for action. If there is no consensus, then the role of EURIM is to quietly explain why not, whether the disagreements are serious and to whom they matter. It does not campaign for one side against another.

Moreover the role of EURIM is not to advance the cause of technologies, let alone companies. It is technology neutral.  It is to look at the consequences of the use of technology in a balanced way - hopefully in advance of need.  It assists members to learn more about the issues involved and about the inter-play between various policy alternatives.

Governance

EURIM is a company limited by guarantee, owned by its members. The company has been in existence since 1984, evidence that it is seen as adding value for members.  The board delegated “authority” to the elected Council at its first meeting and the two have joint meetings every quarter to set policy and review progress. The governance is covered on the website at: www.eurim.org.uk/what_is_eurim/structure_governance.php

That section also covers the organisational structure. EURIM is a virtual organisation with no physical location. The “staff” work from their own homes as a networked team; all are part-time and undertake specific tasks according to EURIM’s needs and availability. 

Director’s remuneration and expenses

The Directors are unpaid and do not normally receive expenses.  There is no commercial benefit.  MPs become involved to learn more about how technology and political decisions interface.

The only Director’s expenses covered from EURIM funds in recent years were for the visit to Washington for the 2007 Internet Caucus in Washington www.eurim.org.uk/activities/Caucus_FollowUp_v5.pdf and the recent visit to Holland to look at Dutch procurement processes (one day return air fare). For the visit to Washington the industry participants paid for themselves and PITCOM and EURIM split the costs of the MPs and Dan Mount as rapporteur. The costs of the Parliamentary delegation to the Internet Governance Forum in Rio de Janeiro in 2007 were fully covered by sponsorship from Nominet, a not-for-profit organisation (see website www.nominet.org.uk).