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Archives for Public Affairs

The inconvenient truth of the transatlantic partnership

June 15, 2018

Yesterday the German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas delivered a ground breaking speech in Berlin on how Europe should hold up its values and policies in a world radicalised by nationalism, populism and chauvinism, expressed by the US president and its behaviours. We have to concede that the world of multilateralism, constructed since World War II… » read more

  Posted by FEPS Fresh Thinking

blogactiv, eGovernment, Financial Services, Public Affairs, Trade & Industry

Is Macron a challenge for Progressives ahead of the European elections?

March 26, 2018

I was quite surprised to see this weekend the “En Marche movement” of French President Emmanuel Macron is launching its European extension with activities in some of the member states, mainly in the Benelux Countries with a lighthouse event in Brussels in front of the European Parliament.   Is this a mind-blowing challenge for the… » read more

  Posted by FEPS Fresh Thinking

blogactiv, Economy & Euro, EU Priorities and Opinion, Euro & Finance, Public Affairs, Social Europe

The Risk-Monger’s Submission to the EU Transparency Register Consultation

April 4, 2016

The European Commission is holding a public consultation to evaluate the Transparency Register that supplies information on EU lobbyists and the policy process. As a professor and trainer in lobbying and a somewhat active analyst, I thought it might be worth sharing my humble opinion. As this is about transparency, I feel it should not… » read more

  Posted by The Risk-Monger

blogactiv, EU Priorities 2020, EU Priorities and Opinion, Justice & Home Affairs, Public Affairs, Science & Policymaking, transparency

Juicing the Numbers: Could Number-mongering be Stupid’s Last Stand?

March 25, 2016

  Two studies came out (just in time for Pesticide Action Week) that question the cost to society of pesticides and other chemicals. The logic is simple: Chemicals cost societies billions of dollars, therefore removing them would save money. I am a little troubled by such a simplistic view – like any statistical analysis, you… » read more

  Posted by The Risk-Monger

Agriculture & Food, blogactiv, Food & Consumers, Health & Consumers, Innovation and Growth, Public Affairs, Science & Policymaking, Sustainable Dev.

10 Reasons why Glyphosate is Good

March 18, 2016

The following is the first of a two-part blog looking at how a corrupt unethical campaign against an essential agricultural product is succeeding in the EU. This first part will look at why glyphosate is such a good product for farmers; the second part will demonstrate how environmental NGOs, activist scientists, organic lobbyists and IARC… » read more

  Posted by The Risk-Monger

Agriculture & Food, BioTech, blogactiv, Food & Consumers, Health & Consumers, Public Affairs, Science & Policymaking, Sustainable Dev.

How to Deal with Stupid – Part 6/10: The Denormalisation of Industry

February 9, 2016

  For the last twelve years, I have taught courses on Corporate Communications and Public Relations mostly to university law students. Towards the end of the course, after following a company’s communications activities for around three months, I poll my students on the class forum, asking if they could imagine working for their chosen corporations.… » read more

  Posted by The Risk-Monger

Agriculture & Food, BioTech, blogactiv, Climate & Environment, Health & Consumers, Innovation & Enterprise, Innovation and Growth, Public Affairs, Science & Policymaking, Sustainable Dev.

Are we building economic obsolescence into the next generation?

January 28, 2016

      Youth unemployment is a global issue. Approximately 74 million young people (15 – 24) are unemployed globally. In Europe the figure is around 4.5 million. Spain, Greece, Italy and Croatia each have youth unemployment rates exceeding 40 per cent.   The social implications of this large scale youth unemployment are profound. Very… » read more

  Posted by DIGITALEUROPE

blogactiv, Digital Single Market, Education, InfoSociety, Public Affairs, Workers mobility

How to Deal with Stupid Part 5/10: Commonality – How Stupid Sounds Believable

January 5, 2016

Last month’s Paris Climate Conference (COP 21) was an exemplary moment in the history of stupid. A dismal failure, the much anticipated climate event did not produce any binding treaty, any strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and its toothless “non-adversarial and non-punitive” accord essentially put climate decisions on the back-burner until after 2050. Rather… » read more

  Posted by The Risk-Monger

Agriculture & Food, BioTech, blogactiv, Food & Consumers, Health & Consumers, Public Affairs, Science & Policymaking

COP-OUT-21: Celebrating mediocrity in the Paris Agreement

December 14, 2015

Paris was a landmark deal! A major achievement to save the planet! The beginning of the end for the fossil fuel industry! The platitudes of the leaders on the Paris Agreement were rich; the reality of the text was very poor. The Risk-Monger read the COP-21 document to see what the excitement was about and… » read more

  Posted by The Risk-Monger

blogactiv, Business & Climate Change, Climate & Environment, Development Policy, Energy, Public Affairs, Sustainable Dev.

How to Deal with Stupid Part 3/10: Eco-fundamentalism: The rise of environmental dogma

December 11, 2015

  The following is Part 3 of a ten-part blog on governance to be serialised over the holidays. How to Deal with Stupid, essentially a policy pamphlet, will examine how stupid has been able to rise, be used by clever manipulators to achieve legislative success and what can be done to begin to return stupid… » read more

  Posted by The Risk-Monger

Agriculture & Food, BioTech, blogactiv, Climate & Environment, Health & Consumers, Public Affairs, Science & Policymaking, Sustainable Dev.

How to Deal with Stupid: Part 2/10 – Social Media: How stupid gets its wings

November 27, 2015

  I am sure there are days when the Food Babe, Vani Hari, must close her laptop, look out of her living room window and marvel: How is it that a woman with a diploma in computer science and without any education in toxicology, chemistry or nutrition could become a global leader in diet and… » read more

  Posted by The Risk-Monger

Agriculture & Food, BioTech, blogactiv, Food & Consumers, Health & Consumers, Public Affairs, Science & Policymaking

How to Deal with Stupid: Part 1/10 – Defining Stupid

November 20, 2015

The following is Part 1 of a ten-part blog on governance to be serialised over the holidays. Today our personal decision-making process is strongly influenced by the latest social media applications yet EU and American government policy mechanisms, developed in the last century, have not been adapted to these communications tools. This discrepancy has created… » read more

  Posted by The Risk-Monger

Agriculture & Food, BioTech, blogactiv, Climate & Environment, Energy, Food & Consumers, Health & Consumers, Innovation & Enterprise, Innovation and Growth, Public Affairs, Science & Policymaking, Science & Research, Sustainable Dev.

The Risk-Monger’s Dirty Dozen – 12 highly toxic pesticides approved for use in organic farming

November 12, 2015

  It is commonly believed that organic farmers do not use pesticides and that organic food is therefore safer to consume than conventionally farmed fruit and vegetables. In a UK poll, 95% of the consumers bought organic food because they wanted to avoid consuming pesticides. This belief could not be further from the truth. The… » read more

  Posted by The Risk-Monger

Agriculture & Food, BioTech, blogactiv, Food & Consumers, Health & Consumers, Public Affairs, Science & Policymaking, Sustainable Dev.
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