EDRA understands how Brussels and the EU work. We know the policymakers and decision-takers at the heart of the EU institutions and beyond. We know what policies will be effective for our sector and how to get them implemented. Crucially, we can build alliances and mobilise policy, politics and the media to support our members’ needs. EDRA showed this most recently with the implementation of the EU Timber Regulation, which creates a due diligence system for the import and placing on the market of all timber products in Europe.

For those doing business in Europe and around the globe public affairs and communications matters. With the right approach on the ground in Brussels some companies have succeeded. But taking the wrong approach - moving too late or without alliances - many more have failed.

With EDRA, we ensure that the voice of DIY retailers is heard by European decision-makers.

Our experience has been that the most successful retailers understand that shaping decision-making in Brussels, years before the decisions are implemented across the 27 member states, is a crucial part of their business planning.

So while the European Union is undergoing dramatic, turbulent change, we urge our members to feed back to us about how policies and regulations are impacting their business, investors and customers.