In November 2010, Julie Jolly and Wendy Naus participated in a two-day conference in Sofia, Bulgaria on “The Roles of Lobbyists.” The event, aimed at members of the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria, was facilitated by the Economic Policy Institute in Bulgaria with funding from U.S. Embassy. The purpose of the conference was to engage with members of the National Assembly and their staff about the lobbying practices, laws, and regulations in the United States and throughout the European Union as the National Assembly deliberates on the extent to which Bulgaria should develop lobbying laws and codes of ethics.

 

Ms. Jolly and Ms. Naus were invited to participate in the conference to describe the U.S. lobbying enterprise and were the only American representatives present. Their presentation, entitled “The Role of U.S. Lobbyists from the Lobbyist and Government Perspective,” provided insights into the evolution of lobbying practices and regulations over time, as well as the methods and best practices for successful lobbying in the United States. As a former government official, Ms. Jolly provided a unique perspective to the National Assembly members about the utility of the lobbyists as resources for information for policy makers.           

 

Other panelists included representatives from the University of National and World Economics in Sofia, a lobbyist to the European Parliament, and a representative from the Institute for World Economics in Budapest, Hungary.

 

In addition to members of the National Assembly, present at the conference was U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria, James B. Warlick, Jr.