Archive
Year: 2012
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Your starter for 10: life as a EU public affairs consultant
July 25, 2012
Some would call it a life sentence. Others would call it a vocation. Many would argue I need more than an annual summer vacation. It’s been 10 years this August since I left the European Parliament (and working for someone I miss on a daily basis) and joined Fleishman-Hillard. Here are ten reasons why I’ve been here ten years. 1. It’s personal I have a personal stake in the EU. I was indoctrinated at the...
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Banking Union: magic solution to eurozone crisis?
July 10, 2012
It seems that a European Banking Union has become the magic solution to the eurozone debt crisis. This week’s meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels confirmed that European funds will provide direct support to Spanish banks, to the tune of €100bn in loans from the European Financial Stability Facility and subsequently the European Stability Mechanism. The aim of the scheme is “to break the vicious circle between banks and sovereigns”, which implies that eurozone...
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Rio +20 boost for EU fisheries policy reform?
June 24, 2012
The word “sustainability" can cover a multitude of interpretations, but when it comes to fisheries policy there is no ambiguity: today’s overfishing means tomorrow’s collapsing fish stocks. Until recently the Common Fisheries Policy has been a classic case of unsustainability, a stand-off between short term political pressures on the one hand and scientific evidence warning of the destruction of Europe’s fishery resources on the other. But at least change is in the air. Rio +20...
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Talking straight
June 18, 2012
Frankly speaking, there’s an incredible amount of nonsense that gets written in Brussels. Whether you call it ‘Brussels English’, ‘Eurobabble’ or ‘EU speak’, the big problem with using jargon in your writing is that it’s incomprehensible and confusing. And if your writing is incomprehensible and confusing the chances are it won’t be read, and is therefore not very useful. Which is a shame. Of course, being ‘useful’ is something us consultants worry about a...
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Data Protection Regulation: Issues and Outlook
June 18, 2012
Fleishman-Hillard Brussels hosts a roundtable luncheon on the ‘Data Protection Regulation – Issues and Outlook under the Cypriot Presidency’ in Brussels on Monday 2 July, 2012. On the first working day of the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Fleishman-Hillard welcomes Giorgos Rossides for a roundtable discussion on the data protection regulation. Mr. Rossides is a special advisor on data protection issues at the Cypriot Presidency. Before joining the Permanent Representation he...
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Women in Power – State of Play
June 13, 2012
On June 12 2012, Caroline Wunnerlich, Managing Director of Fleishman-Hillard in Brussels, was invited to bring her European expertise to a panel discussion on improving the gender balance on corporate boards in the UK and across Europe. The discussion was hosted by the British organisation ‘The 30% Club’, a group of Chairmen voluntarily committed to bringing more women onto UK corporate boards, in conjunction with one of the world’s leading international fashion houses, Louis Vuitton.The...
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Improving the Gender Balance on Corporate Boards
June 13, 2012
On June 12 2012, Caroline Wunnerlich, Managing Director of Fleishman-Hillard in Brussels, was invited to bring her European expertise to a panel discussion on improving the gender balance on corporate boards in the UK and across Europe. The discussion was hosted by the British organisation ‘The 30% Club’, a group of Chairmen voluntarily committed to bringing more women onto UK corporate boards. Caroline offered a European perspective on improving gender balance on corporate boards, discussing...
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Eurozone crisis challenges UK role in Europe
June 10, 2012
Britain is buzzing with talk of a referendum on “Europe”. In May Peter Mandelson was advocating a national vote some time after 2016, when a new Europe of fiscal union will have been defined. He sees it as a way of resolving divisions within Britain’s political parties. Last week it was David Owen’s turn. He called for a dual option: Question One on UK membership of the “European Community”, which would essentially be the single...
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EU resists pressure on airline emission scheme
May 27, 2012
There is no doubt that European standards for commerce and industry have had a profound influence across the world. Europe’s standards have become global standards, if only because anyone wishing to sell their goods on European markets must respect them. Emission limits for motor vehicles, for instance, is one sector where EU legislation has had a worldwide effect in cutting fuel consumption and emissions. There are high stakes when the EU seeks to introduce environmental...
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Finding Europe’s Public Place
May 23, 2012
On Thursday, May 31 Fleishman-Hillard Brussels proudly sponsors the first Brussels-based Personal Democracy Forum brainstorm in the European Parliament. Read more here...