European Engagement

This requires an efficient and effective representation of the interests of German lawyers at the European institutions. The German Federal Bar (Bundesrechtsanwaltskammer, BRAK) opened its Brussels office as early as 1991. In addition to monitoring the activities and projects of the EU institutions, the task of this office is to establish and maintain contacts with members of the European Parliament, Commission officials and representatives of the Council. The BRAK provides information to political stakeholders about the German legal profession’s views and concerns. In individual meetings, by issuing statements or by participating in hearings, the BRAK informs about its positions.

The legal profession plays a key role in shaping legal framework conditions. Not only at the national level, but also at the international level. Therefore, the BRAK is a member of the German delegation to the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE).
Participation in the CCBE gives national bars and law societies the possibility to bundle their voices and make themselves heard even better with a loud voice in politics and business.

The BRAK shares its offices in Brussels with the Law Societies of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the Austrian Bar Association, the Ordre des barreaux francophones et germanophone de Belgique, the Barreau de Luxembourg and the Czech Bar Association and maintains close contacts with other bars and law societies in the European Union.

Furthermore, the Brussels office collects and provides up-to-date information on the professional legal framework of cross-border legal practice and sends out a biweekly newsletter with the latest developments in European legal policy.