In Dr. Hubert Koch, the EVVC has a representative in the capital who monitors and attends to the political events in Berlin and Brussels for the Association. In September, it was among other things possible to win the MP Peter Altmaier as patron for the event greenmeetings & events conference due to the work of Dr. Koch.

The talks in Berlin were continued by the EVVC in September after the extensive discussion with Secretary of State Burgbacher. In an extensive discussion with the Chairman of the Tourism board Klaus Brähmig a number of issues that are of importance to the members of the EVVC and the event industry as a whole were addressed.

As in the conversation with Secretary of State Burgbacher the focus lay mainly on the issueof sustainability and the developments due to the EVVC Green Globe certification within the circle of EVVC members and the resulting opportunities for further development.

Also, thoughts on the development of support programs for ecological and sustainable restoration of event facilities received a positive by the committee chairman.

Another issue was compensation for the upcoming auction of the radio frequencies. Here, it became clear, both in conversation with the Chairman and with MdB Rita Pawelski, that the issue needs to be broached due to the lack of detailed knowledge of many members of the German Bundestag.

For Tourism board as a whole, it seems important to gain an outlook of the economic development of the event industry within the next 20 to 30 years. In this context, the EVVC has agreed to construct a meaningful presentation showcasing the development potential to the board, provided that there is time within the numerous board deadlines.

EVVC President Joachim König: "The EVVC would be very happy to take up the challenge, because our sector of the event industry has a lot of catching up to do in Berlin in terms of its importance and its future viability."
The continued public relations with the members of the Tourism board were very much valued by all three members. They uttered the wish toward the EVVC to get in touch when necessary and to approach them if required.

In order to continue political communication EVVC President Joachim König took the opportunity for discussions with local political speakers of the three largest political groups in the Bundestag in early June. First common ways which political trends could improve the situation of local event facilities at the federal level were debated. Moreover, a further focus was on the current discussions on the energy performance of buildings and the opportunities that arise in this context for communal event facilities.

In a hearing before the tourism committee of the German parliament (Bundestag) the German Convention Bureau (GCB) and European Association of Event Venues (EVVC) deepened their dialogue with politics on 13 April 2011.

Under the title “The Events Industry in 2030 – a Vision“ the two associations presented the current situation of the meetings industry and discussed future prospects and possible developments with political decision-makers. The hearing is an important measure to intensify the dialogue between industry and politics and hence part of the GCB’s strategic reorientation and of joint activities in the capital together with the EVVC.

Immediately before this year's management conference in Munich, Joachim König and EVVC representative for Berlin Dr. Hubert Koch met the Parliamentary Secretary of State at the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology Ernst Burgbacher on 2^nd September 2010. Since the end of last year Burgbacher is the Federal Government Commissioner for Tourism and thus responsible for the event industry. Together, a number of relevant topics for the industry were expounded, discussed and debated.

The EVVC calls for the event industry including all its houses to be reimbursed for a total of 2-3 billion Euros due to the expenses incurred in connection with the Reallocation of radio frequencies (digital dividend). “Our houses, that are for the most part communally sustained and thus dependent on tax payments, are faced with huge subsequent costs,” predicts EVVC President Joachim König. To be able to continue offering the technology of wireless microphones after the reallocation of radio frequencies in convention centers, multipurpose halls, arenas and theaters and many other events facilities from the Adult Education Center to the Staff College it will become necessary to purchase entirely new equipment almost everywhere. The wireless microphones that are being used so far do not work on other frequencies.

First presentation of the industry in front of the Tourism Committee of the Bundestag. For the first time in the history of the event industry, the industry had the opportunity to introduce itself to the Tourism Committee of the Bundestag and to defend its political positions.