Archive

Year: 2013

  • Getting carbon markets back in order

    December 12, 2013

    The EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is here to stay and stakeholders share a common vision on how to fix it, that was the basic takeaway from a roundtable on carbon market reforms FleishmanHillard hosted along with SSE and Oxera last Friday. For those whose full time job is not in the EU Energy or Climate field, the ETS is the largest multi-country, multi-sector greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme in the world and the chief instrument...

  • Listening to the Washington perspective on privacy and cybersecurity

    December 6, 2013

    On Wednesday December 4th we welcomed Kevin Gundersen, vice president at Banner Public Affairs and a former intelligence and cybersecurity advisor for the US House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security. Teresa Calvano, head of our technology practice in Brussels chaired an engaging and informative round table discussion on privacy and cybersecurity issues on both sides of the Atlantic. There was a wide range of attendees from sectors as diverse as transport and energy, as...

  • Crying is sometimes ok, even for public affairs professionals

    December 3, 2013

    Industry fights on fact, loses on emotions in Brussels. Just contrast the latest NGO campaign you’ve come across to that bland position paper (see here) you just wrote that ‘welcomes the Commission’s proposal’ and then lists all the facts that make it a complete disaster for your industry. Yet while many public affairs professionals understand that to win a debate emotion is as important as logic, as soon as it is suggested that emotion may...

  • Roundtable on EU Carbon Market Reforms: What Next for the ETS?

    November 27, 2013

    As the debate over backloading of EU ETS allowances looks to be moving to a positive outcome, FleishmanHillard, Oxera and SSE would be delighted to invite you to a roundtable on the next steps for reform of the EU ETS with: Niels Ladefoged, Cabinet of Commissioner Hedegaard Sarah Deblock, International Emissions Trading Association Martin Pibworth, Managing Director of Energy Portfolio Management, SSE Tomas Wyns, European Director, CCAP and chaired by: Michael Kraus, Associate Director, Oxera...

  • NGO Priorities For Europe’s Environment Agenda: What Should The EU Do?

    November 25, 2013

    FleishmanHillard Brussels invites you to an informal luncheon roundtable on NGO priorities for Europe’s environment agenda for 2014 and beyond, which will take place on Tuesday 3rd December 2013 from 12.30 to 14.00. NGO leaders, Mr. Tony Long, Director at the WWF European Policy Office, and Professor Dr. Ludwig Krämer, Director of the European Union Aarhus Centre at ClientEarth, will join the roundtable discussion as guest speakers. The event will be moderated by Mr. Aaron...

  • EU to Hit New Milestone on Climate Change Abatement Spending (But Should We Care?)

    November 20, 2013

    Party hats out. The European Commission informed the world Wednesday that at least 20% of the European Union’s budget for the next 2014-2020 funding period will be spent on climate-related projects and policies.  Says Connie Hedegaard, the EU’s climate watchdog honcho, in the Commission press release: ''Today is an incredibly important day for Europe and for the fight against climate change….This is a major step forward for our efforts to handle the climate crisis…” And...

  • Data protection: the saga continues!

    October 25, 2013

    Who said Brussels is boring? We talked about the vote in the Parliament earlier this week already and we were waiting for the European Council conclusions. Well, Heads of States and Government have just declared that “the timely adoption of a strong EU General Data Protection framework is essential for the completion of the Digital Single Market by 2015.” As some of us know, a draft text prepared by the Council was suggesting the adoption...

  • Brussels’ attention grabbed by Data protection

    October 22, 2013

    Yesterday evening EU public affairs practitioners were ready to face one of the longest votes that a parliamentary committee could experience. Food was brought into offices, colleagues had been warned not to bother people that would follow this marathon vote, clients were alerted well in advance about the length of the voting … and … things went differently. The vote on the famous data protection regulation (that by now everybody knows is one of the...

  • Challenge accepted! It’s time to have some ‘FHun in the Oven’….

    October 16, 2013

    Any regular reader of this blog knows that we tend to take ourselves pretty seriously. I mean, we're serious consultants with serious work to do and serious policy areas to ponder! We’re passionate about the issues of the day that will affect our work, our clients, and life in general out there in the wild blue yonder; whether it be how the German elections could impact the direction of energy policy, or how the twittersphere is chiming in on...

  • Rebuilding resilient and innovative healthcare systems – Gastein Forum 2013

    October 7, 2013

    Last  week, high in the Austrian mountains the health policy community gathered for the annual Gastein European Public Health Forum (EHFG).  With a dramatic mark left on health and healthcare systems by the crisis, and economics (and fiscal governance) part of today's reality, the focus was on how Europe can build resilient and innovative healthcare systems. Recognising that health is a value in itself and a key driver of economic growth and prosperity, ensuring health...

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