65 posts
Measuring success in Public Affairs
NEW
Know what happens to a marketer whose big programme does not result in a rise in sales? They’re in trouble. They may very well lose their job. What happens if a PA professional’s big programme still results in overwhelming loss in that ultimate o...
So it seems the book is real now
NEW
It took me longer than a pregnancy to write it (but then again, I guess pregnancies are handled as a full time occupation whereas writing this book was more of a “nighttime-who-needs-sleep-anyway” adventure), but iLobby.eu is now a “...
Writing a book about lobbying : what a bad idea!
NEW
Me to client: “So are you OK with me mentioning you in my acknowledgments as you really helped me go to my limits in lobbying on your behalf”. Client: “Huh, well, I didn’t do much and you know, on this side of the Atlantic, we...
Eurobarometer controversy
NEW
The UK based anti-EU lobby group Open Europe managed, perhaps unintentionally, to stir up a debate at European level when they accused the European Commission of spinning the results of the Eurobarometer poll of public opinion in the European Union.
A classic example of EU spin
NEW
Here's an example of some good old EU spin for you:The European Commission today announced the results from the latest Eurobarometer poll - carried out in May during the height of the crisis - with a press release carrying the headline,"EU citizens f...
FH European podcasts # 1: Thought Leadership
NEW
I’ve recorded our first podcast on Corporate Communications and Public Affairs in Europe. Why podcasting, I hear? We believe we know a fair few people at Fleishman and beyond who have plenty of interesting things to share but might not always have...
A good book worth reading: Alpha Dogs
NEW
Another one for the political junkies, “Alpha Dogs” details the rise and fall of Sawyer-Miller, one of the first political consultancy firms, and a firm that played a major role in bringing down both Marcos and Pinochet. Full of little nu...
Lawyers and the Commission register of lobbyists
NEW
The European Commission launched in 2008 a voluntary register for lobbyists seeking to influence its policymaking. Interest representation is a legitimate part of a democratic system. The register was established in a Commission effort to enhance p...
Best of the Euroblogs?
NEW
Last week, public affairs firm Waggener Edstrom published the findings of their ‘Brussels Blogger Study’. Having assessed the relevance and reach of thirty EU policy-related blogs, the firm produced a top ten of those they considered to b...
Manneken Pis wants you? Pillow talk on “Brussels”?
NEW
Uncle Sam wants you, is one of the famous slogans worldwide. Everyone knows that Uncle Sam is the personification of the United States. If you try to invent something equally hard hitting for the other great union, the EU, perhaps a sense of creeping...
Vacancies: Specialists required to build bridges
NEW
The lack of specialists in EU-oriented blogs is impeding the development of the European online public space. One of the observations in the recent Waggener-Edstrom survey of influential blogs that resonated with me was the lack of specialists in Eu...
It’s not the size of your pencil…
NEW
Is this post my Jerry Maguire moment? Cover of Jerry Maguire When asked why I was leaving a successful role in our Brussels office to come to D.C. my answer generally went along the lines of “I want to learn new things about public affairs afte...
Nomenklatura
NEW
Nomenklatura Pataquès au sein de la junglo-blogo 2.0. Après les récents avis de décès des euro-blogueurs Julien Frisch et Charlemagne, la publication de The Influence Index, mené par Weggener Edstrom, u...
European blogging progresses
NEW
‘Political’ blogging in Europe lags considerably behind the activity in the US. But the positive trend is clear. Independent bloggers writing about EU policy are nipping at the heels of their big media rivals, according to a survey on the EU̵...
Euroblogs debating Euroblogosphere: Navel-gazing? Professionalism?
NEW
With the help of the Twitter discussion under the hashtag #bbs10 (now seven plus pages), let us track the discussion in and about the Euroblogosphere following the Waggener Edstrom Brussels Blogger Study 2010. In addition to the blog entries, remembe...
We the Euroblogs
NEW
What do they think about us? Introspection seems to be a favourite among extroverts. The Waggener Edstrom Brussels Blogger Study 2010 triggered talk among independent Eurobloggers – on Twitter (as well as on blogs).The catchword of Waggener Edstrom...
Doing the job: debating the top euroblogs?
NEW
Well, if the Waagener Edstrom list of the most influential euroblogs was designed to provoke debate, it certainly has done amongst the eurobloggers. Jon Worth, the fifth most influential according to the list, had to invite himself to the study̵...
Brussels Blogger Study 2010 just out: could do better, outside Brussels
NEW
Here are some comments and strong opinions, on what speakers said at a study launch by consultancy Waagener Edstrom, well summarized here . And what it means for opinion leaders: Mr Buzek, please read on… Now, why would a Frenchman bother to bl...
I've an influence of 49.17 and I'm not afraid to use it!
NEW
According to the Waggener Edstrom report, I'm the 22nd most influential blogger (15th in the EU General section) with an influence of 49.17 (PDF via Jon Worth, the 5th most influential). It's flattering, in a way, but I'm not entirely sure what it's...
Under the influence?
NEW
The public affairs firm Waggener Edstrom issued their first ever study of the influence of EU affairs blogs yesterday, ranking the Open Europe blog 7th overall.Here is the top ten:BBC | Gavin Hewitt’s EuropeFT Brussels BlogThe DiggerFistful of Euro...
That euroblogger influence survey (updated)
NEW
Hmm, any survey which lists my blog as a Top 20 ‘influential’ blog (see Stuart’s post and interview with the authors, and Jon’s post) must be either very generous or not have more than 20 blogs to work with, given that I post...
Which Is The Most Influential EU Policy Blog?
NEW
A Brussels based consultancy, Waggener Edstrom, has released a report about the level of influence in the EU policy area by bloggers. It focuses on the Brussels based, English language EU blogosphere. Unsurprisingly, Blogactiv.eu and bloggingportal.
A "European Code of conduct for lobbying"?
NEW
Just stumbled upon this press release informing that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) voted in favour of a recommendation to set up a European Code of Conduct for Lobbyists today. The PACE is only a consultative body of the...
We’re tickled pink by Julien’s fish and mash-ups
NEW
An interesting post over on Julien Frisch’s blog who shows yet again how online tools out there for free can help all of us seeking to understand and explain the EU’s legislative processes – whether to clients or just because we are...
“World’s Best Think Tanks
NEW
World’s Best Think Tanks (UPenn Rankings) by Reflection Cafe THE THINK TANKS AND CIVIL SOCIETIES PROGRAM James G. McGann, Ph.D. / Director University of Pennsylvania / January 25, 2010 THE TEA PARTY from Global Guerrillas by John Robb “It&#...
The tactics of the European plastics lobby
NEW
According to German top blog Basic Thinking, the European plastics lobby has captured a domain name related to an upcoming documentary called Plastic Planet. The official German website of the film now is http://www.plastic-planet.de, but the Euro...
De Gucht on shaky ground on corporate lobbying
NEW
Caroline Lucas MEP (Greens, UK) challenged the Trade Commissioner designate Karel de Gucht on the issue of corporate influence over EU trade policy when he appeared before the European Parliament hearing yesterday (12 January 2010).Lucas was happy wi...
Barroso II: Questions to the new Commissioners
NEW
When I blogged the list of new Commissioners designate, I said that we and MEPs now have to look at "who is not qualified for [the] portfolio, who has conflicts of interest and who has shown in the past that there should be doubts on whether s/he is...
Potočnik as Environment Commissioner – industry in the drivers seat?
NEW
One of the remarkable aspects of Barroso’s decisions on the portfolios of the new Commission team is that all 13 current Commissioners that continue in Barroso-II will get a new portfolio. The logic behind these transfers is not always exactly clea...
Will Barroso-II have a transparency Commissioner?
NEW
Media reactions to Commission President Barroso’s decisions on the division of portfolios over the 26 candidate Commissioners have concentrated on who got key portfolios, like Michel Barnier getting the internal market job, which includes the polit...
Searching in vain for the EP's Chamber of Secrets (Intergroups Register)
NEW
In the last few weeks, CEO has tried in vain to access the European Parliament's Register of Intergroups. After numerous phone-calls and fruitless email correspondence, we raised the white flag and wrote a complaint letter to the Parliament's Quaesto...
Champagne corks popping in Rue Belliard
NEW
Commission President Barroso surprised many with his early announcement on Friday afternoon of the portfolios for the 13 new candidate Commissioners and the 13 current Commissioners who will continue in Barroso-2.Barroso gave Günther Oettinger (Germ...
Lobbying campaign by hedge funds not declared in Commission register
NEW
According to eFinancialCareers "it emerged yesterday that the Alternative Investment Management Association is paying Finsbury €1m to lobby against the EU’s Alternative Investment Fund Managers’ Directive."The Alternative Investment M...
Three surprising new entries on the register
NEW
The number of entries in the Commission’s voluntary lobby transparency register has now passed 2,000 (753 of which are Brussels-based). The Commission celebrated this as a big success, but in fact the rate of participation is still below 1/3 of Br...
MEP-Industry fora – vehicles for lobbying ?
NEW
Earlier this month, representatives from the automotive, financial services and digital economy industries were joined by MEPs and EU Commission president José Manuel Barroso at a “networking cocktail” to relaunch three “MEP-industry forums”...
Unnamed French EU lobbying firm accused of fraud and bribery
NEW
Flemish daily De Tijd, quoting anonymous sources in the Belgian Central Anti-Corruption Agency and the Belgian Federal Court, writes today that an unnamed French lobbying firm active in Brussels has sold confidential information on upcoming tenders f...
Lobbying through the media
NEW
Industry lobbying to water down the proposed EU investment fund directive is intensifying week by week. Earlier this year Corporate Europe Observatory showed how the European Commission’s voluntary register in fact revealed very little about the tr...
News round-up: Lobbying
NEW
A year after the Commission’s voluntary register of lobbyists came into being, could the rules already be set to change? Siim Kallas tells European Voice he is considering it. EurActiv seems to think the issue won’t be high on the Swedes&...
On the voluntary lobby register
NEW
I received a question regarding the Commission's voluntary lobby register in the comments to this post, and I would like to share it - and my answer - with you.unregistered advisor asked: "I'd be very interested to hear your unbiased opinion about th...
Brussels Sunshine: More effort needed for the Commission's lobby register
NEW
From a freshly published article by Brussels Sunshine on the currently ongoing review of the Commission's lobby register:"[T]he Commission’s job is to make whatever changes necessary to ensure the transparency register fulfils its goals: securing v...
Why hedging your bets is not good in the EU...
NEW
Interesting blog from Charlemagne over at the Economist. I've been banging on on this blog for a long time about the importance of EU engagement, EU lobbying and that there's no such thing as a policy of safe disinterest. Looks like the hedge funds a...
Hill & Knowlton: Using blogs as part of PR strategies to influence MEPs
NEW
On EurActiv, Elaine Cruikshanks, the CEO of the PR agency Hill & Knowlton, talks about the loss of influence of the Tories in the new European Parliament and about the future strategies to influence the many new MEPs:"[T]he inauguration of the new Eu...
Only 24% of Brussels lobbies registered, but Commission claims success
NEW
On the first anniversary of the European Commission's lobby transparency register, less than one in four Brussels-based lobby groups and firms have signed up. At a press briefing yesterday, however, the Commission hailed the register as "a succe...
Adapt Public Affairs Training to the European Reality
NEW
We call for the integration of interculturality modules into European public affairs training. Interculturality is not an innate ability but in EU27, it is imperative. The future frameworks of both national and European institutions will need trainin...
EU lobbyists reluctant to register [Thomas ESTRUP]
NEW
As of March 31 2009, 1251 bodies have signed up for the voluntary register launched by the European Commission June last year for lobbyists seeking to influence its policymaking. 717 of those are professional associations and NGOs. 177 companies have...
Commission continues to grant privileged access to unregistered lobbyists
NEW
While the Commission claims to be urging lobbyists to join its voluntary lobby register, the speakers list of a high-level conference on industrial competitiveness organised by the Commission’s Directorate for Enterprise and Industry suggests that...
Think tank says boycott of register is 'a matter of principle'
NEW
In an article on the European Commission's lobby register, Dirk Jan Hekking, Brussels correspondent of Het Financieele Dagblad, notes that law firms and think tanks continue to boycott the register. Among the major Brussels-based think tanks only the...
