URL: Latest posts
When the going gets tough, let’s head to the beach!
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It’s the end of July, which means it’s nearly August, which means it’s time for the holidays! And boy, does Brussels go on holiday! One minute you’re standing on Place Luxembourg marveling at the sheer weight of people apparently desperate...
Belgian Presidency – “Rupture” or “rature”?
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Which will it be? At the beginning of this month the Belgian State Secretary for European Affairs Olivier Chastel is known to have stated that Belgium will mark a “rupture”, or a break, from current practice following the changes introduced by th...
The politics and utopias of football
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Today I don’t want to discuss budgetary deficits or the WEEE Directive as I feel, like many others, caught up by the collective frenzy of the World Cup. Although I don’t really like football, I have read, over the last couple of weeks, a lot of a...
World Cup fiesta leaves EU nations feeling blue
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The EU loves a good crisis. In the past we’ve had a Treaty crisis, a referendum crisis, an economic crisis, and a Euro crisis – and now, we have a World Cup crisis. So far this has not been a good World Cup for EU Member States. Favourites Sp...
Towards a Silver Economy
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Silver like our seniors’ hair colour. I came across this term for the first time when reading the Council Conclusions on Active Ageing, adopted last week. Whilst everyone seems to be focused on tackling the immediate crisis and betting on the dea...
Dutch tolerance – A distant past?
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The Netherlands, a country once praised for its tolerance and open mindedness, held its national elections on Wednesday. During these elections, the so-called Freedom Party (PVV) won 24 out of the 150 available seats. The most concerning thing howeve...
The Bilderberg Group: Secret society, global puppet masters, rulers of the world or harmless “old boys” club?
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For most, the first weekend of June was marked by sunny afternoons in the park, barbecues and growing anticipation for the World Cup. In the small town of Stiges, a seaside town in Spain not far from Barcelona, however, the world’s elite were ga...
Let’s get a divorce – but where?
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Divorce looks set to become easier for international couples in Europe as the EU will enable them to choose which country’s laws should apply if they are to separate. Under the new plans for enhanced cooperation, in which fourteen EU countries ar...
Swimming upstream in financial reform
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The EU has big plans for the world of financial services over the next year. While several Directives are underway (including the never-ending Alternative Investment Fund Managers saga) regulations are in the pipeline (work on Capital Requirements...
Paradoxes of a crisis
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The Greek deficit that is shaking the eurozone is creating a renewed wave of angst in the political and financial world. Up to a point where more than just a few wonder whether the eurozone could possibly collapse. Not long ago, however, the euro was...
Out with the old – in with the new
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It is with great sadness that The Lobby must announce the passing on of Emil Valdelin, erstwhile joint Editor of this fair blog. Fear not, he has not moved far – across town to Avenue Louise, as it happens – but his departure from the nerve centr...
Cameron government may leave UK feeling blue
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With most of the UK election results now in, we now know that the Conservatives will be the biggest party in what the UK terms a “Hung Parliament” (where no party has a majority). Much has been made about how a Conservative government under David...
Public vs. Private: Online guidelines for the political class
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In the wake of the fact that more and more Swedish communes are using Facebook and Twitter for ‘citizen communication’, the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKL) today published a set of guidelines (in Swedish) for the use of...
Digital gag order
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Twitter is expanding at a meteoric rate. Not having a Facebook account is highly unusual today among under 30s (and above). Corporate business cards include Skype usernames. Recruitment happens on LinkedIn. Digital ad infinitum…. But what about act...
QUESTION: What happens if the Member State running the EU Presidency does not have a Government in power?
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We might be faced with this situation sooner than we think: on Thursday Belgian Prime Minister Leterme handed in his resignation to the Belgian King due to his five-party coalition government being about to collapse with the Flemish Liberals and Demo...
Iceland sends the wrong lobbyist for its EU bid
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CANCELLED – this word is currently written on the departure and arrival screens of most airports across Europe following the closing of air traffic since last Thursday. Thank you Eyjafjallajökull! No, not the name of a hero in Lord of the Ring...
A game changer?
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By Chris Rogers Last night we had the first of three groundbreaking Prime Ministerial TV debates in the UK. Pages of rules and a muted audience didn’t detract from the fact that political porn like this is rare, a testament to the 9.9 million viewe...
Brussels’ missing link: the digital position paper?
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Since Ivy Lee’s famous press release in 1906, media communication has evolved. Some would argue the pinnacle of this development is the social media press release. It’s nothing revolutionary in The Lobby’s opinion, but it does hit the nail on t...
They’re all going on a Easter holiday – but we’re not.
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It’s a strange week in Brussels. There are definitely fewer people around. The STIB timetables are set to vacances scolaires, and you don’t keep bumping into people on the Rue du Luxembourg. No-one seems to be picking up the phone at the Eu...
The Times They Are a-Changin’
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On 1 April, after more than a year of rumours hinting at Robert Madelin leaving the helm of the European Commission’s Health and Consumers DG (DG SANCO) (he held the position for six years despite the fact that Director-Generals are expected to mov...
