Archive

Year: 2009

  • EU must toughen its stance after Copenhagen

    December 21, 2009

    The EU's next challenge? For the European Union it was a depressing end to the year! Gone were all hopes of providing global leadership at the Copenhagen conference on climate change. The EU found itself helpless on the sidelines as the US president, constrained by a sceptical Congress, confronted a Chinese prime minister apparently determined to reject any binding commitments which might set limits to China’s CO2 emissions over the next 40 years. The Copenhagen...

  • EU Must Toughen its Stance After Copenhagen

    December 20, 2009

    For the European Union it was a depressing end to the year! Gone were all hopes of providing global leadership at the Copenhagen conference on climate change. The EU found itself helpless on the sidelines as the US president, constrained by a sceptical Congress, confronted a Chinese prime minister apparently determined to reject any binding commitments which might set limits to China’s CO2 emissions over the next 40 years. The Copenhagen Accord, put together at...

  • About me: could you add that my dog is a poodle named Fredo?

    December 11, 2009

    After tweeting and blogging about the Commission's own biographies of the Commissioner-designates the week before last, the FH team duly set about writing our own bios of the incoming members of the college. This was done with some trepidation given our own ribbing of the Commission's efforts, but we felt safe in the knowledge that it was hard to make as much as a hash of it as they had. The bios were circulated to...

  • Shock: British journalist praises Barnier

    December 11, 2009

    At last a touch of balance in Britain’s Daily Telegraph over the nomination of Michel Barnier to the internal market portfolio, with responsibility for financial services! I guess it’s no coincidence that the writer, eurosceptic Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, was the newspaper’s correspondent in Brussels from 1999 until 2004 – the same time span as Barnier’s former term as commissioner. No doubt he has personal experience of the Frenchman’s qualities. I mention this in the context of...

  • To Twitter or not to Twitter: use of digital tools in public affairs

    December 9, 2009

    Last week saw Fleishman-Hillard host a panel debate on the use of digital tools in public affairs and politics at the European Public Affairs Action Day. The videos of the contribution of our three speakers (Alexander Alvaro MEP, Pat Cleary of FH DC and Mark Redgrove of Orgalime) are now available on our YouTube channel here. Here is the contribution of Alexander Alvaro MEP in two parts. The Q&A session of the panel discussion will...

  • Shock: British Journalist Praises Barnier

    December 8, 2009

    At last a touch of balance in Britain’s Daily Telegraph over the nomination of Michel Barnier to the internal market portfolio, with responsibility for financial services! I guess it’s no coincidence that the writer, eurosceptic Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, was the newspaper’s correspondent in Brussels from 1999 until 2004 – the same time span as Barnier’s former term as commissioner. No doubt he has personal experience of the Frenchman’s qualities. I mention this in the context of...

  • Commission staff (mis)use wikipedia as often as the rest of us shocker

    November 27, 2009

    It's been an exciting day. We cut our weekly staff meeting short. We gathered around our computers shortly after midday to watch the press conference that saw the announcement of the proposed make up of the new Commission. Some we knew, some we didn't. From our MD to our intern, we love this kind of stuff. We duly dashed off notes to clients. Climate Action Commissioner and DG  confirmed. French get Internal Market. Transport to...

  • EU appointments: visionaries need not apply

    November 23, 2009

    We live in the age of media celebrity. So no surprise at the critical and sometimes bitter press reaction to the nomination of Herman Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton, virtually unknown beyond their own parishes, as Council President and High Representative respectively. As someone said, it was like a TV talent show where the choice of the people (and the press) was ignored by the judges. If only we’d been able to phone in! I...

  • EU Appointments: Visionaries Need Not Apply

    November 22, 2009

    We live in the age of media celebrity. So no surprise at the critical and sometimes bitter press reaction to the nomination of Herman Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton, virtually unknown beyond their own parishes, as Council President and High Representative respectively. As someone said, it was like a TV talent show where the choice of the people (and the press) was ignored by the judges. If only we’d been able to phone in! I...

  • Register now for European Public Affairs Action Day – 30 November

    November 13, 2009

    Further to our recent post our blogs stats show a veritable stampede of readers (ok, 40 or so...) seeking to find out more information about the European Public Affairs Action Day. You will recall we have a panel at the 30 November event on "To Twitter or not to Twitter: digital tools in Public Affairs" featuring Pat Cleary from DC, Alexander Alvaro MEP and Mark Redgrove from Orgalime. Alas, all that clicking was in vain...

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