The Access Code is the code that teleconference participants who choose to dial-into the discussion will need to be able to access the event.
The Access Code is e-mailed to those teleconference participants just a few hours before the start of the discussion and should be kept carefully because our operators will need that code when the participants dial-into and before they can be admitted to the meeting.
Nb. The Access Code is not the same as the Registration Code - see under Registration Code below.
Arrival time –please see under Start time
If you have to cancel your registration for a discussion, then subject to any applicable charges (see below), we will refund your participation fee.
Our cancellation charges are as follows:
Participation fee – within 48 hours of the discussion, the charge is 100% of the participation fee.
Membership fee – Unfortunately, we cannot offer any refunds for membership fees.
If you cancel your registration, then soon after we have registered your request we will send you an e-mail confirming the request.
We will endeavour to refund the participation fee within 24 hours of your request. The refund can only be made to the credit card that was used to register for the discussion.
For refunds within €urozone countries, our bank will deduct a small fee for processing the transaction equivalent to the charge on a transfer within your country.
For refunds to a non - €urozone country, our bank and your bank may deduct a significantly higher fee for handling the transaction and which may, depending on when we receive your request for cancellation, result in only a small percentage of the initial registration fee being refunded to your credit card.
We cannot guarantee any time in which the refund will be credited to your bank account nor the actual fees that will be deducted during the refund process, as these depend on the banks involved in the refund transaction.
How do I cancel?
You will be asked to complete a short form, including the Registration Code that was sent to you with the confirmation of registration.
Since in almost all cases, the participation fee will be charged to a personal credit-card, it is not currently possible to ask to substitute a colleague in the same law firm / employer organisation and receive a receipt in the name of the second participant.
If for accounting purposes you require the receipt to mention the name of the actual participant, then it will be necessary to refund the first participant’s participation fee and for the second participant to register separately.
We will remove your name from our mailing list indefinitely and refuse your further participation in our events. In the most serious cases, we reserve the right to take other action.
Contact – Who do I contact if there is a problem?
Problems with registering for a meeting?
Please check first with the Problems part of these FAQs to check if there is a solution to your registration and/or dial-in difficulties.
If not, then you can call us on + 353 1 2887032 and we will see if we can solve the problem.
If you are calling out of office hours (09.00h – 18.00h in Dublin, Monday-Friday) then please leave a message and we will respond as soon as possible on the following business day.
You can also e-mail us enquiries@brusselsmatters.eu
Problem with dialing-into a discussion?
If you are experiencing problems dialing into a discussion, then you should call our Event Co-ordinator on the dial-in telephone number you received a few hours before the event.
Dialing into the event – How do I dial into the discussion?
There are two ways to participate in the discussion by teleconference:
- We can dial you into the meeting. This option requires you to fill in a direct telephone number - either your direct telephone number (not a switchboard number) or your mobile phone number – when you fill in the registration form. You should choose this option if, for example, there is a risk that you may be travelling on the day of the discussion or you wish to avoid the need to remember the personal codes and telephone number necessary to dial-into the meeting (see below).
- You can dial into the meeting yourself. If you choose this option on the registration form, then at around 16.00h (CET) we will send you a unique personal code that you will need to keep allowing you access to the meeting. You should dial-into the meeting at least 15 minutes before the start time, so from about 18.45h (Brussels) (see further under Format).
Payment of the applicable fee will also enable participants to join an e-mail discussion forum that will be opened after every event. Access to the e-mail discussion forum will be limited to those participants who paid to participate in the relevant event.
Information about how to participate in the e-mail discussion forum - including the forum rules - will be published shortly.
End – what time does the discussion end? All discussions end at 20.30h (Brussels); they begin at 19.00h (by teleconference or in-person (Brussels time)).
Fee – what does my payment cover?
The payment at the rate applicable to the relevant lawyer category (ex. €125 / private-sector lawyer participant) covers any number that can attend in the room where you connect to the Brussels Matters discussion on the call — at the same low price.
In other words, one registration = one connection.
Format – what will happen during the discussion?
The discussion will bring together lawyers participating in-person in Brussels and others participating by teleconference from beyond Brussels to discuss the relevant topic with the senior EU speaker.
Lawyers participating in-person should arrive at the hotel before 18.55h at the latest.
Lawyers participating by teleconference:
- Dial me in – we will dial you into the meeting starting from about 18.50h (Brussels time). Please ensure that you are at the location of the direct telephone number you gave us from 18.50h. This is very important because if you are not at that location, it may not be possible (due to the number of other participants to be connected) to try a second time to dial you in before the discussion starts at 19.00h.
- I will dial in – these lawyers should dial-in between 18.45h and 19.00h (Brussels). This will allow our operators to confirm your details and admit you to the event.
At 19.00h (Brussels), all participants will be invited to join the discussion.
- In person - If you have registered to participate in Brussels and you believe that you will not be able to arrive at the hotel before 19.00h (Brussels), then as soon as possible please switch to teleconference participation. This is free of charge and can be done by contacting our Event Co-ordinator who, after confirming your registration and contact details, will admit you into the meeting promptly.
- By teleconference - If you are participating by teleconference, then as soon as our operators have checked your details, you will be admitted to the meeting.
Our discussions take place in Brussels either at The Renaissance Brussels Hotel, Rue du Parnasse, 19, B-1050 or another venue indicated on the Confirmation of Registration email you received when registering for the discussion.
Mailing lists – How do I find out about future Brussels Matters’ discussions?
You can find out about future Brussels Matters' discussions either by visiting our website on a regular basis or requesting to be added to our mailing list.
You can join our mailing list by using the 'Add me to the mailing list' link on our homepage. You can also register to receive alerts about future discussions on the registration form for each discussion.
According to our privacy policy, we will not add your name and contact details to our mailing list unless you expressly request this.
Membership – What are the advantages of being a member of Brussels Matters?
We are currently exploring the possibility of creating a membership category through a new part of this website.
- Reduced registration fees to participate in events.
- Faster registration procedures through using pre-selected certain options for how to participate in discussions (for example, requesting to be dialled in to the event).
- Participating in all e-mail discussion fora, and not just the e-mail discussions restricted to the discussion(s) you have paid to participate in.
Papers – Will I get any papers / PowerPoint presentations used by the speaker?
However, we cannot guarantee that all EU speakers will take the time and trouble to prepare some PowerPoint slides.
Some lawyers will choose to participate in-person in Brussels, while others (both outside and in Brussels) will choose to participate by teleconference when they complete the registration form. See Format and Dialing into the meeting above for further details.
Payments – How do I pay to participate in a meeting?
At the moment, the only way to pay to participate in an event is by using a credit card.
We accept the following credit cards: American Express | Visa | Mastercard We appreciate that many people may have concerns about using credit cards to make purchases on-line.
This is why we have partnered with Ireland’s premier payment services processor, Realex Payments (www.realexpayments.com), to ensure that you can use your personal or corporate credit card with the maximum of security.
Realex Payments were the first Irish payments services processor to achieve Level 1 Service Provider status against the international Payment Cards Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards.
Realex Payment are currently used by the Irish Government to process many of the on-line payments and funds transfers that Irish residents use daily.
For further information about Realex Payments’ implementation of the PCI standards, please follow this link http://www.visaeurope.com/documents/ais/service_provider_insert.pdf
Brussels Matters' staff have no access to the personal credit card information that you will fill into the secure Realex Payments payment processing page and before you can register to participate in a discussion.
The payment at the rate applicable to the relevant lawyer category (ex. €125 / private-sector lawyer participant) covers any number that can attend in the room where you connect to the Brussels Matters discussion on the call — at the same low price.
In other words, one registration = one connection.
Only registered participants will be able to ask questions, either in-person (in Brussels) or by teleconference.
Also, Certificates of Attendance in Brussels Matters discussions can only be issued to registered participants.
Problems – I am not able to register for a discussion / dial-into a discussion. What can I do?
Dialing-into a discussion:
I did not receive a personal code before the meeting. The Access Code is circulated at around 16.00h (Brussels) before the start of the meeting. If you have not received a code by 17.00h (Brussels), please e-mail us as soon as possible at enquiries@brusselsmatters.eu
I cannot register following the five registration steps - what should I do?
Please refer to How do I register for an event in these FAQs for a complete explanation of these five steps.
Secondly - if you cannot complete these five steps because you are unable to see and click on some or all of the function buttons on the registration pages, then you will need to check your computer's settings.
For example, if on step 1/2 ('Choose your registration category') you do not see the button 'Next' immediately under the drop-down menu on this page, then you will need to (1) adjust your browser settings to allow the page to appear correctly (including these important function buttons) or (2) change to another computer where you can easily see these vital function buttons.
The Brussels Matters website was designed for maximum, equal ease of use through Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers.
Thirdly - you should ask your IT department for assistance. For example, they may be able to help you adjust your browser security settings to allow the Brussels Matters website to be recognised as a secure website and therefore removing any restrictions imposed on your computer viewing websites with function buttons.
I get a 'Session problem' message when I click on the 'Submit' button on Step 3/5
In the past, this was a recurring problem with PC security settings in some law firms / organisations.
You need to check with your IT department if you are allowed to change the security settings in your web browser.
In the affirmative, then assuming you use Internet Explorer 6 as your browser please follow these steps:
- In the ‘Tools’ tab, click on ‘Internet options’, then ‘Security’ and either adjust the ‘Custom settings’ to medium and/or add this website (http://www.brusselsmatters.eu ) to the list of ‘Trusted site’ and ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’.
- In the ‘Tools’ tab, click on ‘Internet options’, then ‘Privacy’ and adjust the settings slider to ‘Medium’ or ‘Medium low’ and click ‘Apply’.
If your IT department does not allow you to change your PC's browser security settings in this way, then you will need to register using a stand-alone PC that is not connected to your office's internal network.
I cannot pay by credit card - what should I do?
Firstly - at the moment we only accept payment by credit card.
This is because payment by credit card is the only way we can immediately confirm your participation in the discussion.
Otherwise we would have to wait to receive payment from your law firm / employer organisation before we could confirm your participation in the discussion.
Please refer to the Payments part of these FAQs and the Payment Info tab on the homepage for further explanation.
Secondly - if your law firm / employer organisation does not have a corporate credit card (American Express, MasterCard or Visa), then you can still use a personal credit card.
This is because almost immediately after we receive your payment using a personal credit card we will send you a full receipt by e-mail. This will allow you to obtain reimbursement for the payment to participate in the discussion.
I am unable to get a confirmation message after the Payment Processing page - what should I do?
Page 5/5 ('Payment processing') is the secure Realex Payments page where you need to enter your American Express | Visa | MasterCard credit card details. For further information, please refer to Payment Info on the homepage or in these FAQs.
Once you have entered these details, please click on the 'Pay Now' button.
If you see a message 'Thank you. To continue browsing, please click here', then you have successfully paid to participate in the discussion. Within a few minutes, you will receive confirmation of payment and participation by e-mail.
If you do not see the message 'Thank you. To continue browsing, please click here' then you have not paid for and have not successfully registered to participate in the event.
Firstly - if you should see an error code (for example, Error 508 - Invalid data in CC name field), this means that you have incorrectly entered some details in the relevant boxes on the payments processing page.
Please ensure that you have entered the details exactly as they appear on the credit card itself. Generally speaking, credit cards do not, for example, carry names with the German-language umlauts or Slavic accents. If you enter a name with letters using these characters, this will result in the payment being rejected.
Secondly – if you should get to the Payment Processing page (Step 5/5), but cannot go any further because you cannot see the ‘Pay Now’ button, then you should check your computer and browser settings.
Thirdly – if you are still not able to pay, then please contact us via the website or e-mail enquiries@brusselsmatters.eu and we will do our very best to help resolve the problem.
The last 45 minutes (approximately) of every discussion is set aside for questions to the speaker and examining the topic with all the participants.
- Teleconference participants will get instructions from us (by e-mail) and the Main Operator about how to ask questions orally during the discussion.
- All participants will be able to ask questions orally from 19.45h (Brussels).
Recordings / transcripts – Will there be a recording / transcript of the meeting?
No – there will be no recording and/or transcript of the discussion since following the strict 'Chatham House' rule format of every discussion, the views expressed by the speaker are his / her personal views and, unless expressly stated by the speaker, do not represent the views of the EU institution for which (s)he works.
We hope that all participants will respect this express condition of their registration and participation in the meeting.
Registration - How do I register for a discussion?
There are five steps to the registration process.
Step 1- click on the link 'Register for this meeting' on the page for the relevant discussion. This is the page that opens immediately after you click on the link to that discussion from the home page.
Step 2 - on the next page ('Step 1/5 - Choose your registration category') you should select the category that applies to you.
For example, lawyers in law firms should choose the category 'Lawyer in private practice' category from the drop-down menu that appears on the page.
Then click on the 'Next' button underneath the drop-down menu. (If you do not see the 'Next' button, please refer to the 'Problems' part of the FAQs).
Step 3 - you should click on the button 'Register for event' on this page ('2/5 - View selected event') if you are happy with the selection that you have just made.
Step 4 - on this page ('3/5 - Personal & law firm / organisation details'), you need to complete the registration form with all the required details.
Please be sure to select the correct participation option ('In-person' or 'By teleconference'). If unsure, please put you cursor over the links in blue for some explanatory text.
Please also include your VAT (value added tax) number if your law firm or employer organisation has one. Usually, this will be on your law firm / employer organisation's website or available from your accounts or finance department.
When the form is completed, please confirm that all the details are correct (by checking the box at the bottom of the page) and then click on click on the 'Submit' button.
Step 5 - after checking the details that appear on the next page ('4/5 - Confirmation'), then please click on the button 'Pay now' to go to page 5/5 ('Payment processing').
You should see a message 'Redirecting to secure server' and then very quickly you will see the page 5/5 ('Payment processing').
This is the secure Realex Payments page where you need to enter your American Express, Visa or MasterCard credit card details. For further information, please refer to Payment Info on the homepage or in these FAQs.
Registration Code - what is the Registration Code?
The Registration Code is the code that is e-mailed to all participants at the same time as the confirmation of their registration for a discussion.
The Registration Code is only used to allow all participants to cancel their registration under the terms of our Cancellation policy (above).
Registration for a meeting – How do I know if I have been registered for a meeting?
We will send you an e-mail confirming your participation in the discussion within an hour of receiving confirmation that your credit-card payment has been approved.
You will not be registered to participate in the discussion until you have received that confirmation e-mail (and therefore until we have received confirmation of your credit-card payment).
Reimbursement – How do I get reimbursed for paying to participate in a Brussels Matters’ discussion?
Shortly after we receive confirmation that your credit-card payment has been approved and processed, we will send you an e-mail with a copy of your receipt in secure pdf. format that will show that you have paid to participate.
You can then print and use this receipt to obtain reimbursement from your law firm / employer organisation.
Reimbursements after cancellation – see Cancellation & substitution policy above.
Start time – see Time below
Time – what time does the discussion start and end?
Unless otherwise stated on the website, all discussions start at 19.00h (Brussels) for all participants and end at 20.30h (with a cocktail until 21.00h for in-person participants).
All discussions last 90 minutes.
Participants attending the discussion in Brussels are asked to arrive before 19.00h to avoid being late.
Please note that all start times are Brussels time. The local time in Brussels is displayed on our homepage. The start times in some other cities / locations include:
6.00pm – Dublin / London
20.00h – Helsinki / Stockholm
1.00pm – EST (ex. Washington DC and New York)
