Archive
Year: 2016
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Twitter was built for marketers, not lobbyists
April 19, 2016
Public affairs practitioners often look to the marketing world as a frame of reference for their social media efforts. Why? Well, because there’s not really anywhere else to look. There’s no guidebook for using social successfully in EU public affairs, there’s only practice. We have to work hard, experiment and sometimes fail to understand how we really (really!) make social work in service of our policy and business objectives. Whether we realise it or not...
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Decarbonising transport: What’s the Commission’s strategy all about?
April 15, 2016
If you ever find yourself in a room filled with people working on European transport policy, the moment you mention “decarbonisation” heads will turn in curiosity (or despair). We bet this is what happened during the two-day informal council meeting in Amsterdam over the past two days! Since the 2030 Climate and Energy Package and COP21, everyone has been talking about “decarbonisation of transport” yet no one really knows what the Commission has in its...
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A snapshot of the EMIS committee
April 3, 2016
Facts are few and speculation abounds about the European Parliament’s special Committee of Inquiry into Emission Measurements in the Automotive Sector—in short, the EMIS committee or Dieselgate inquiry. While we wait for certainty, this document prepared by FleishmanHillard offers an overview of what is known: membership, leadership, mandate, and timetable. There are 45 members, including 1 chairperson, 4 vice-chairs, 2 co-rapporteurs, and 9 group coordinators. 1 member is also the rapporteur on the Commission’s January...
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How best to resolve bad banks?
March 17, 2016
The Financial Services Practices Practice organised a roundtable with Patrick Pearson, Head of Unit for Resolution and Crisis Management in the Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, European Commission. Mr. Pearson’s opening address was followed by an hour long discussion on Europe’s Bank Resolution Framework, moderated by FH partner, Donald Ricketts. The lunch time event took place at FleishmanHillard’s Brussels offices on 17 Mar 16...
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In Brussels, don’t tell your boss you need Twitter. Tell them you need MEDIA
March 10, 2016
We’ve all been there in the EU public affairs world. You’re excited about social media but your boss doesn’t get it. It’s time to adjust your pitch. Start with this… Traditionally, meetings, events and media were the communication channels of choice in the Brussels bubble and for the most part they still are. They work well and in a town where relationships are essential to success, you can’t really do without them. But in 2016...
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Democracy and Austerity: Damned if you do….
March 4, 2016
Irish election results show that austerity measures, even when resulting in economic recovery, will be punished by electorates. The results are in. In the first general election since 2011, the previous coalition government of Fine Gael (centre-right) and Labour, has been rejected by the Irish people. This time around Fine Gael and Labour, despite an uptake in the economy, suffered unprecedented losses, and the main opposition parties Fianna Fáil (centre-right) and Sinn Fein (left...
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Regulation, research and access: what would be the real impact of Brexit on the pharmaceutical sector?
March 2, 2016
“Europe has gone from 27 (sic) fragmented, independent, not-talking-to-each-other regulatory authorities in the healthcare space to one. That’s a big deal.” Andrew Witty, CEO of GSK Until relatively recently, the pharmaceutical sector has been more or less absent from the Brexit debate. Finally, the silence was broken by the likes of Merck, Eli Lilly and GSK, proving that the lack of noise throughout 2015 should never have been mistaken for a lack of interest by...
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Transport connects Europe
February 25, 2016
New technologies and business models, the external pressures of environmental concerns, fluctuating energy demands, deteriorating infrastructure and shifting populations are forcing changes to Europe’s transport systems and requiring new regulatory responses. Given this complexity, FleishmanHillard has identified and presented in one timeline the major transport policy initiatives for 2016. Initiatives cover different modes and come from different services in the European Commission, reflecting the interconnected nature of the transport sector. In sum, the calendar for...
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Why Twitter users in Brussels should look to radio for inspiration
February 25, 2016
Despite its undoubted transformative potential, there still exists large swathes of people in the Brussels Bubble who just ‘don’t get’ Twitter. As a social strategist I sometimes find that pretty frustrating; there are so many great things which industries, associations and individuals could be doing, but there is just such little appetite for them. The challenge is to demonstrate to the bubble just how easy, accessible and effective Twitter is. Although everybody knows that Twitter...
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The European Commission’s ‘Energy Security Package’: FH Outcome and Analysis
February 17, 2016
On Tuesday, 16 February, the European Commission published the much anticipated ‘Energy Security Package’– its first significant energy initiative for 2016. This suite of proposals seeks to implement the part of the framework put in place by the EU’s Energy Union that concerns energy security issues and particularly natural gas. The package reinforces the existing energy security framework by updating legislation on security of gas supply, enhancing transparency and the role of the Commission in...