Archive
Year: 2014
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FH Wins for Campaign to Raise Voting Age
September 24, 2014
FleishmanHillard has won the NGO Campaign of the Year at the 2014 Digital Communications Awards for its groundbreaking work in support of the League of Young Voters around the European elections. The campaign, developed by David Turier and Stephan Thalen, sought to engage young people across Europe in the European elections by campaigning to raise the voting age to 25. The Responsible Democracy campaign provoked outrage from people across Europe before it was revealed to...
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The new College of Commissioners – A recipe for success?
September 19, 2014
The long-awaited announcement has finally arrived! We watched, not quite with popcorn, but at least with baited breath, as Commission President Juncker announced his new College of Commissioners and DG allocations for the next five years. Amid festive acclamations, some raised eyebrows, temper tantrums and maybe even a solitary tear, 5 former PMs, 11 financially-savvy candidates, 8 foreign affairs specialists and 7 incumbent ministers were chosen to join the Dream Team. In true Juncker style...
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The Juncker Commission Analysis
September 12, 2014
In a much-awaited move, the European Commission President-elect, Jean-Claude Juncker, allocated portfolios across his new College of Commissioners on the 10th of September. FleishmanHillard’s Institutional Research Unit has prepared a high-level analysis looking at the challenges facing the new College, the new order and structure, and the dynamics at play amongst the institutions that you can download here. FleishmanHillard is available for tailored workshops on the EU institutional changes and how they affect your business. For...
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The Union, the sun and Espírito Santo – A fireside read on the summer past
September 8, 2014
Unlike the hurley-burley of these first days of institutional activity, August was a fairly quiet month in Europe – far set from the troubles and tensions of previous summers and the frenzied preoccupations over economic collapse. This year, Brussels emptied itself of tired civil servants, who trudged, nostalgically back to their homelands, and European capitals were filled with an unusual sense of calm - a pause between political seasons. However, not all states were blessed...
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EU leaders gather to decide captains of European Council and foreign affairs
August 29, 2014
As Saturday’s ‘special’ European Council Leaders’ Summit draws closer, the speculative frenzy over which high-flying politician will end up in which post continues to grow. European leaders have the difficult task of agreeing on the EU’s top positions of European Council President (Herman Van Rompuy’s replacement) and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (Catherine Ashton’s replacement). And filling these posts will require consideration of a number of factors, including reconciling political geographic and gender...
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It’s the economy… stupid!
August 29, 2014
Excuse us being the latest of a long string of commentators to use this time-honored title for our blog post, but sometimes it’s a reminder that just has to be said again and again. This weekend, case in point, European leaders are once again meeting in Brussels for their third attempt to settle on who gets the EU’s top jobs for the next five years. Cue chatter in the press, on Twitter, and all across...
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Why everyone in EU public affairs actually works in communications
August 25, 2014
I like to rattle on ad nauseum about how communications and public affairs* are two peas in a pod that probably shouldn’t be as segregated in Brussels as they are today. Then I sat down with one of the top communications directors in Brussels who got where I was coming from, and in two simple phrases was able to finally articulate the point I was failing to make. Public affairs is really just one tactic...
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SEPA migration – A milestone for the single market. But what’s next?
August 6, 2014
What has been achieved Whilst attention over the past months has focussed on the high politics of institutional change, continuing efforts to reboot the economy and attempting to nudge some order into the EU’s eastern neighbourhood, a quiet evolution has taken place in the euro payments system. Originally planned on 1st February 2014, the extended deadline of 1 August marked the date for all Eurozone payment transactions to migrate into SEPA compliant formats, completing...
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How much does reputation of the industry influence policy-making in Brussels?
July 15, 2014
FleishmanHillard recently gathered representatives of the food & beverages, agriculture and retail industry to hear about the expectations of European consumers towards the food industry. To feed the debate, Nick Andrews presented the recent FleishmanHillard research called “Authenticity”. The research, undertaken in Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK with expert consumers revealed that the industry is falling short on people's expectations to provide transparency around production methods and sources, more personalised and easier to use...
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How to make a lasting impression on the new European Parliament
July 15, 2014
The new European Parliament is in place. The Committee seats are distributed. Every interest group in Brussels is scrambling to throw together an EP engagement plan. This fall we can expect a big push from these groups to engage new members, but how can they make a lasting impression? How can they make sure their message lives on beyond that initial outreach? The dawn of social media has led to a fundamental shift in how...