The phrase advent of 1992 has long since been stripped of any significance by its inclusion in the bumpf of the innumerable firms intent on impressing the world with their Europeanness, real or imaginary. In Brussels, however, even some of the most sceptical observers are slowly coming round to the view that the single European market will indeed become more than just a slogan, and that those that don’t make provisions for its arrival do so at their peril. Many large US information technology companies, perhaps spurred on by some vague paranoia about a nascent Fortress Europe, have been quick to establish a high-profile presence on the Old Continent ready for any rich pickings that might be had after the all-important December 31, 1992 – among the new hopefuls that have flocked to the Zaventem, Brussels’ own Silicon Valley, are such notables as IBM, Unisys, DEC, Prime Computer and Tandem. But sources close to the European Commission suggest they may find their entrance into Europe less fruitful than they imagine. The problem is not any latent anti-American sentiment at the Commission – the involvement of major US firms in the Esprit project militates against that explanation – but simple laxity and shyness on the part of the new arrivals in Europe. It isn’t enough just to set up a division in Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam or Munich and wait for the business to roll in: to have any chance in the bidding for any of the big public sector contracts in the 12 Community countries, a company should first introduce itself to the Commission – a letter will do – to be instructed straight from the horse’s mouth on how to get its bearings in the labyrinth of European public procurement procedures. According to these same sources, US firms have been somewhat coy when it comes to making that first contact with European bureaucracy, which means not only that they are fair game to the legion of consultancies willing to give an infinite amount of advice on How To Get Ahead In Brussels – but also that when the really big pan-European projects come up for tender in 1993, the chances are that they will go straight into the hands of the usual band of well-established European players. – Mark John
