Posted Sunday, Dec. 1, 2002; 15.43GMT
Back in the days before European economic integration and the process known as globalization had taken hold, figuring out who called the shots was relatively straightforward: national governments and the civil servants who worked for them. These days, power is far more diffuse. A banker in Frankfurt can make interest-rate decisions that profoundly affect a businessman in Barcelona. A bureaucrat in Brussels can destroy a huge merger between two French — even American — companies.
So who are the people with influence in this new world? Behind the politicians who like to take the credit is an élite group of officials who are rarely in the spotlight. We've unearthed 10 of them, asking bankers, lawyers, executives, and lobbyists for suggestions. Not surprisingly, several of those profiled know one another, even though they represent five different nationalities, working in nine different places. They are the ideal people to take to lunch if you're doing business in Europe — assuming you can get on their busy schedules.
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