Abstract. In this paper we deal with strong stationarity conditions for mathematical programs with equilibrium constraints (MPEC). The main task in deriving these conditions consists in calculating the Frechet normal cone to the graph of the solution mapping associated with the underlying generalized equation of the MPEC. We will derive an inner approximation to this cone which is exact under an additional assumption. Even if the latter fails to hold, the inner approximation can be used to check strong stationarity via the weaker (but easier to calculate) concept of M-stationarity.