From Brussels to Brazil: Professionalising government affairs

by
James Stevens

On Thursday, October 12, James Stevens, Senior Partner and Managing Director at FleishmanHillard Brussels addressed a visiting delegation of officials and government relations executives from IRELGOV, the Brazilian Insitute for Government Relations, on the practice of government affairs at an EU level.

The institute has the objective of increasing the level of professionalism, competences and ethical practices of government relations in Brazil. The visiting delegation spent a week in Bruges and Brussels learning about the EU institutions and stakeholder interaction with them.

James addressed best practice in EU public affairs from the perspective of the market’s leading government relations and public affairs consultancy, the evolution of lobbying in Brussels over the last fifteen years and the industry’s efforts to address issues relating to transparency, including the European Transparency Register and the consultancy industry’s code of conduct.