Brexit, refugee crisis, nationalist populism – Commission President’s State of the Union speech this week was a tour de force, addressing the many challenges the EU is currently facing. In his words: “Our European Union is, at least in part, in an existential crisis”. In the words of the German news magazine ZEIT online: power is more than ever with the member states than with the EU. Although times…
Brussels is filling up again, and your politjobs team is back in town as well. The summer break ends with a bang: DG COMP’s decision to re-claim 13 billion Euro of taxes from Apple signals the Commission’s determination with regard to corporate tax and a tough position in competition matters overall. Will it do the trick and build voters’ trust in EU institutions? We will soon find out. A…
Every year towards the end of July, Brussels shuts down: almost no traffic, public transport is even less reliable than at other times, restaurants close over summer, and after a little time of cleaning up the office, Eurocrats, lobbyists and whoever else is able to do so, leaves to enjoy the summer break. Time for us, and for you, to do the same and recharge our batteries! You will…
Who would have thought that a country with little more than 300 000 inhabitants makes it to the Euro’s quarter finals, and kicks out England on the way – thereby healing some post-BREXIT decision grudges…. We can learn at least two lessons for job-hunting from the Icelanders: Have a plan – and practice Iceland’s football team did not win by accident. Ever since the turn of the century, Iceland…
The EU without Britain – months ago, BREXIT did not seem a realistic option. Nobody in Brussels could imagine that the UK referendum could actually result in a decision against the EU. One day before the vote, we are not so sure anymore. Scenarios what will happen to companies, to British officials in the EU institutions, to trade with the UK, to Scotland are now being played through. The…
Company headquarters and Public Affairs satellite offices are one family, and at the same time two very different worlds – and therefore source of a lot of frustration in Brussels and the home base. Headquarters are driven by business results, the stock exchange, sectoral developments, advisory meetings – Brussels satellite offices deal with political friends and foes, rumours, proposals and parliamentary amendments. Public Affairs staff often has different educational…
Austria’s political turmoil kept us on our toes these past weeks. The first round of voting for a new president left a right-wing extremist candidate must successful, and his final victory was prevented by a more than slight majority of 50.3%. Our entire world is currently in a situation that is more difficult and more threatening than ever. All in all, that has been a recipe for violent conflict…
Greenpeace Neatherlands recently caused even more excitement for media. Public-oriented, they released nearly 250 pages of secret documents on the FTA TTIP. However, the contents come as no surprise. In fact, the Americans ask what one assumes they would – and so do the Europeans. Cecilia Malmström, EU trade commissioner, called the leak “storm in a teacup”. Greenpeace sees it as a big hit – as expected – and…
Leadership qualities in Public Affairs – what are they, and are they necessary at all? Public Affairs professionals tend to move up to Head-of-Office positions quickly, but then most of them discover that the teams they can head count something between „me-myself-and I“ and maximum 3 staff members, that headquarters forget about their satellite office leaders, and that career ladders are therefore short. So what is the use of…
On 22 March, the European world was shaken. Two bombs first killed 11 people at the airport where I often leave at exactly the same time in the morning. Another bomb went off one hour later, at a metro station in the EU district where all of us “EU Bubble” people often pass through or get off. This bomb killed more than 20 people – and amongst them a…