Archive
Opinions
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EU Climate & Energy Policy: Ending the year with a bang
December 19, 2018
A landmark year for the EU energy and climate policy draws to a close. The European institutions are finalising complex agreements on new rules for the internal electricity market as part of the Clean Energy Package adopted by the European Commission in November 2016. Regulations aimed at cutting emissions of light and heavy vehicles are also reaching towards the final stage of negotiations between the Council and the Parliament. Over the past months, the European...
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How to Measure the Impact of Social Media for Public Affairs
November 28, 2018
Our Challenge: Social Media is for Marketers Social media has become a veritable public affairs tool in its own right. Public affairs activities are incredibly difficult to measure, but with social media we’ve been given a gift. We have data, so much data, for free and at our fingertips. But there’s a problem. None of these social media platforms were built with us in mind. Social media is for marketers. And marketers need numbers. Marketers operate...
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Move over America, Europe is dealing with its own brand of political and cultural disruption
November 27, 2018
I often find myself explaining the current political climate in Europe to friends, family, and clients with this: “If you think the United States is crazy right now. Europe is at least as crazy as the U.S.” My observation tower for Europe’s current environment is Brussels, where I head the digital public affairs offering for FleishmanHillard across the EMEA region. Yes, Europe’s current politics can rightfully be described as “crazy” but in that environment, we’re seeing something both...
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EPP to elect its lead candidate
November 7, 2018
On Thursday, the European People’s party will elect its Spitzenkandidat (lead candidate) for the European elections. First established in 2014 as part of the procedural changes to electing the new Commission President, it is seen as the official response to an attempt to bring the EU closer to its citizens. However, it is also widely viewed as an attempt by the European Parliament to have a greater say in who becomes the next Commission president...
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What you need to know about tech and energy: a sectoral revolution with policy consequences
November 5, 2018
Sectoral Revolution In every sector the influence of the tech industry has increased in parallel with the improvements in technology, and over the past decade this influence has led the technology and energy industries to have grown closer and closer – with parallels much more important than the tired claim that ‘data is the new oil’. New technology will revolutionise the energy industry, requiring the energy sphere to carefully analyse traditional ‘tech’ policy areas like...
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Tackling the new digital agenda – Priorities & challenges for the next Commission – #FHYearofChange
October 22, 2018
Tech policy can expect more targeted actions around the access to data, the role of online platforms, and the use of competition law. Since 2014, the positive political tone around tech has been gradually chipped away at by developments such as Commissioner Vestager’s enforcement decisions against Apple, Google, and Amazon, as well as the fast and loose data protection principles demonstrated by Facebook and Cambridge Analytica. While Commission President Jean Claude Juncker prophesised, in 2014...
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European Elections 2019: What can we learn from the past?
October 8, 2018
As Europe looks towards the 2019 European elections, FleishmanHillard has analysed what we can learn from the past. The upcoming European elections will be part of a broader year of change which will see a new Commissions President, a new Commission and a new Council President by the end of the year. The European Parliament (EP) has evolved over the last two mandates. We notice an increasingly fractured centre and a shift towards more right...
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What does the future (Commission) hold for access to medicines?
September 28, 2018
Over the past few years, the health policy landscape in Brussels has been characterised by the member states’ intense request for greater access to medicines. The primary focus has been on how prices could be reduced to increase access. However, drug shortages have equally remained on the radar. In June 2016, the Dutch Council Conclusions on strengthening checks and balances on the pharmaceutical industry have stirred political developments that have led to the ongoing intellectual...
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New French Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition appointed
September 11, 2018
Last week, Mr. François de Rugy was appointed to the position of Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition, in replacement of Nicolas Hulot. The latter’s resignation, a popular and high-profile new comer to politics, came as a surprise and a shock, whose wave has further weakened the government of Prime Minister Edouard Philippe. This happened at a difficult time for President Emmanuel Macron and his government, facing feeble growth and several damaging polemics. François...
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So, what is an influencer?
July 16, 2018
The term 'social influencers' has become a industry buzzword. The most common definition is ‘someone with a large social following.’ It makes sense to collaborate with influencers based on what they can offer. As Brett explains in his video, the main purpose of working with social influencers is to drive purchaser intent or to raise awareness. Yet, they can also help to effect change in a highly specific policy area or impact certain individuals. Therefore...