Archive
Year: 2012
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Join us at the Personal Democracy Forum, 2012!
May 22, 2012
On Thursday, May 31 we’ll be in the European Parliament, taking part in a captivating brainstorm on how tech – and tech-savvy citizens – are transforming governance, politics and civil society. Why don’t you join us? Now in its ninth year in the United States and its third year in Europe, the Personal Democracy Forum brings together top opinion leaders, politicians, technologists, and journalists from across the ideological spectrum to network and exchange ideas. Next...
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Greece’s 2012 elections: what message to Europe?
May 9, 2012
Rarely do citizens vote not on the basis of right or left but right or wrong: and Greeks consider the tough austerity measures plain wrong. At the ballot box, voters punished the two predominant parties for their role in the economic crisis and for imposing spending cut measures on the population already suffering from a 22% unemployment rate. This ends the predictable era of politics which saw Greek voters alternate between PASOK and New Democracy...
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Guess who’s coming to dinner!
May 9, 2012
European Council president Herman van Rompuy has arranged a summit dinner for EU leaders on May 23. For François Hollande the Brussels feast will be a first opportunity to brief all his colleagues on France’s new approach to the eurozone crisis and how he sees a return to growth in Europe. His message will be relatively well received. The fascinating question is who will fill Greece’s dining chair and how deep will the Greek crisis...
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What Is the Future of EU Public Affairs?
May 4, 2012
Caroline Wunnerlich, Managing Director of Fleishman-Hillard in Brussels, shares her views on the future of EU public affairs in our latest FH podcast. Celebrating 20 years at the company in 2012, Caroline reflects on the development of public affairs over the last two decades and looks forward to how it will develop in the future. You can listen to the podcast here...
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Budget chickens come home to roost
April 26, 2012
The European Commission is struggling to justify an increase of nearly 7 per cent in the EU payments budget for 2013. The timing could hardly be worse, with national budgets feeling the full force of austerity, governments facing fierce opposition to spending cuts at home, and the Dutch being forced into new elections as coalition consensus crumbles. No surprise, then, that presentation was a major preoccupation at this week’s Commission meeting. As you might expect...
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Easy e-citizenship in France
April 26, 2012
As we have explored numerous times in this blog over the years, the Internet is increasingly shaping political discourse, public scrutiny over elected representatives and our democratic life in general. The upcoming French parliamentary elections are proving once again that e-citizenship is gaining ground fast; for some this year, computers will replace the traditional ballot box.A major pioneer of e-citizenship was Switzerland, where in some constituencies citizens are already entitled to vote online; now France...
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FH Europe podcast: 20 years of Public Affairs in Brussels
April 25, 2012
In the latest instalment of the FH Europe podcast, we interview Caroline Wunnerlich, the Managing Director of Fleishman-Hillard in Brussels. FH Brussels celebrated 20 years in business last year, a landmark Caroline hits this year. In the interview she tells us about how PA in Brussels has changed over the last 20 years and looks ahead at the next 20. Click here to listen to this edition of the podcast.* Click here to subscribe to...
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Economic growth is the theme for spring
April 13, 2012
Spring is the season of growth, and economic growth in Europe has become the dominant theme of the moment. It is certainly a central theme of the French presidential elections. In a few days time the European Commission plans to launch its economic growth plan for Europe, setting out the measures it believes that member states must take to stimulate their economies. The plan will focus on what the recent Greek sustainability report called “internal...
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Europe In The Throes
April 3, 2012
Fleishman-Hillard's James Stevens features in the Spring edition of the World Policy Journal in an article about the importance of Brussels and EU regulation to business. The article, written by the Financial Times' Brussels correspondent Stanley Pignal, underlines the reach of regulation from Brussels, its positive and negative effects and the importance that global business attaches to advocating in the European Union's capital. The article "Europe in the Throes" by Stanley Pignal can be found...
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Transatlantic Economy 2012
April 2, 2012
Fleishman-Hillard sponsors Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Transatlantic Relations annual survey of US/EU trade and investment “The Transatlantic Economy 2012”. Launched at the Amcham EU’s 6th annual Transatlantic Conference in Brussels on 29 March 2012, the study emphasizes the continued importance of the US/EU relationship in the global economy. The transatlantic economy creates nearly $5 trillion in commercial sales per year and employs up to 15 million people according to the study. The authors also...