Sweden’s shift to the right: what are the implications for the upcoming Presidency of the Council of the EU?
In mid-October, the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag) confirmed Ulf Kristersson (Moderate Party) as Sweden’s new Prime Minister. His election marked a shift to the right in Swedish national politics, ending 8 years of ruling by the centre-left Social Democrats. Kristersson heads a three-party centre-right minority government, composed of the Moderates, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, […]
Biden’s European Honeymoon?
Is the love back in transatlantic relations? In choosing Europe for his first overseas trip as the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden strikes a stark contrast to his predecessor, who kicked off his foreign travels with a visit to Saudi Arabia. The key question: Did President Biden manage to demonstrate America’s determination […]
The EU Prepares to Get Tough Over Corporate Governance
The session of the European Parliament’s Justice Committee earlier this week left no doubt: The EU is working towards a fundamental change in corporate culture in a number of different ways. Two initiatives were on the agenda, generating a lively debate from the MEPs who were present. Their respective impacts could have a significant impact […]
Digital Taxes – The Inevitable or Unattainable?
Over the last several years digital taxes have been the star of tax policy debates. With the upcoming economic challenges arising due to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world are looking for new sources of income to make up for their slimming budgets. The EU is no exception. The digital economy, and reshaping the […]
2020 and Beyond: The Changing Dynamics of Public Affairs in EMEA
Prior to the pandemic, political environments were already becoming increasingly charged. The crisis has pushed public affairs further into the boardroom and to the heart of businesses. The dynamics of the profession are changing too as it strives to reach broadening stakeholder networks. The following are some insights from our public affairs leadership across EMEA […]
Now is the Time for Companies to Strengthen their Approach to ESG and Sustainability
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria have become a focal point for companies, especially as COVID-19 highlights the importance of overlooked social factors. Fortunately, there are steps organizations can take to enhance ESG and sustainability performance while demonstrating how they put their values to work. Learn more from Mark McCall, our global segment leader in […]
Introducing ESG Compass
The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted a shift in the way that ESG and Sustainability is understood and put into practice by companies. If environmental, social and governance concerns were in the past often interpreted as three separate, marginal issues, they are now clearly both more inter-connected and central to business performance. FTI Consulting’s2020 Resilience Barometer™ […]
Human Rights Due Diligence and Sustainable Supply Chains
The European Union is expected to shortly roll out new legal obligations which could include civil liability for human rights abuses and environmental harm in supply chains. This has important implications for European businesses working in a globalised economy across almost every industry; from fashion brands sourcing from textile factories in South Asia, major technology […]
Climate Emergency: Europe is Prepared to Fight for Change, But is it Ready to Adapt?
While the world confronts the impact of the Covid-19 crisis, the climate emergency hasn’t gone away. Its consequences remain a firm fixture in global media headlines, from killer heat waves and floods to melting permafrost, often resulting in loss of life and property as well as disruptions to economic activity. Europe is at the forefront […]
Time to Rethink the ‘S’ in ESG
Good PR starts with good behaviour – putting the ‘S’ into ESG. Social responsibility meets stakeholder expectations. Our colleagues in Dublin look at five key areas: workforce, customers, community, data security, human rights Please download the full article to read further..
How Businesses Can Help the G20 Step Up its Game
Since the COVID-19 crisis began, critics have accused the G20 of being missing in action. Established in 1999 at finance minister and central governor level, the G20’s original objective was to foster high-level discussion on financial stability among 19 developed and developing countries and the European Union. Together, the members of this exclusive club generate […]
Is Europe Ready to Harness the Power of Apps in the Fight Against COVID-19?
Both the general and specialist media have been awash with coverage of the use of contact tracing apps to fight COVID-19. In this snapshot we set out the key questions around whether apps should be among the tools used to bring Europe out of lockdown. We provide an overview of the current EU position on […]
From Viral to Virtual: Steps to Create a Culture of Collaboration in Virtual Teams During a Time of Crisis
The novel Coronavirus has dealt business a hand of cards it needs to learn to play with, and fast. Across the world, organizations are being forced to reorganize the way they work and collaborate within a matter of days, if not hours. The million-dollar question on everyone’s mind is: “How do we ensure business continuity […]
Advocating in a Time of Crisis
A new European Commission and Parliament is a difficult enough challenge at the best of times. Throw in a global pandemic and it could seem daunting. Advocating to protect your policy interests may not seem an urgent priority at a time of crisis, but it still matters. As the political and business communities continue to […]
A Modern Malthusian Check: Managing Unpredictable Uncertainties
Disease and pestilence remain a threat to the modern age. In a globalised media landscape, levels of fear can escalate to unpredictable levels in such a short period that they are more likely to have a disproportionate impact on every business model. The CoronaVirus outbreak is a case in point. However, companies remain largely unprepared […]
Connected Cars: Data Processors in Motion
With vast amounts of (often sensitive) information constantly processed by increasingly more advanced models, connected cars and data handling are firmly on the radar of EU legislators. While GDPR already provides the foundation for the sharing of personal data, new provisions related to connected cars are likely to provide additional guidance for this rapidly-evolving sector. […]
A Global, Sovereign and Green Europe
In a transformative year for the European Union (EU), the vote in favour of the new College of Commissioners marks the end of the ‘Great Transition’ in EU politics, putting the von der Leyen European Commission on track to take office on 1 December. On 27 November, Members of the European Parliament (EP) approved the […]
Equivalence in EU Financial Services Legislation – Providing Genuine Value or Adding Confusion?
Equivalence in financial services legislation used to be a topic which did not provoke a lot of excitement. More recently, more questions have been raised than answers – and rightfully so. Global media outlets have followed the recent equivalence discussion with Switzerland in countless articles and the Financial Times, Bloomberg and Reuters have pointed to […]
A Week in Strasbourg is a Long Time in European Politics: How Ursula von der Leyen Was Elected
With only nine votes to spare, Ursula von der Leyen was elected President of the European Commission by a razor-thin margin. In the two weeks between her nomination and the crucial vote in the European Parliament, tensions ran high and the certainty of her electoral victory was not yet solidified. Nothing, however, compared to the […]
The US Hedge on AI Regulation
Hearing global calls for regulation, the U.S. has instead pushed full speed ahead in advocating artificial intelligence innovation. While Ursula von der Leyen, the incoming European Commission president, has promised legislation for a “coordinated European approach on the human and ethical implications of artificial intelligence”, the U.S. continues to put market-focused growth and development over-regulation. […]
The Rise of the Dark Horse: Ursula von der Leyen
German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen emerged last week as the surprise choice of EU leaders for the next European Commission President. Von der Leyen, who is deemed a life-long high achiever, is now facing an uphill battle to receive the support of the European Parliament. But who is von der Leyen? With many […]
Europe’s New Leaders?
Europe is a step closer to finalising the cast of leaders that will steer the European Union’s institutions through the next five-year period. Several of the names agreed this week by the European Council (consisting of EU government leaders) came as a surprise to many but is illustrative of the complexity of finding consensus within […]
The Netherlands: Europe’s most attractive life sciences hotspot, or the next big troublemaker?
The Netherlands certainly has a lot going for it when it comes to attracting the world’s leading biopharmaceutical companies: World-class research institutes, a well-respected healthcare system and not least of all the new home of the European Medicines Agency. FTI Consulting and IvCB explore whether there is another side to the story. Please download the […]
Introducing Spitzenkandidat: Frans Timmermans
June 2019: A gifted communicator, experienced politician and Spitzenkandidat for the S&D group in the European Parliament, Frans Timmermans is the hope of the socialist and Democrats for the European Commission presidency. For the past five years, he has been the First Vice-President of the European Commission, tasked with some of the most complicated and […]
Outcome of EU Elections
Europe has voted. FTI Consulting Brussels previously provided an overview analysis of whether the outcome could be good, bad or ugly. What has been the outcome? Good provided for a post Brexit environment where Europe came together to move forward collectively. Bad provided for a fragmented Parliament where the decision-making process slowed. The ugly revolved […]
End of the Status Quo: Europe Enters A More Fragmented Future
2019 EU Parliamentary Elections Country by Country Analysis Within this report FTI Consulting Brussels provides an overview of the EU parliamentary elections held from 23rd May through to 26th May 2019, with a country by country analysis of all 28 Member States. All facts and figures are correct at time of publication with some results […]
Initial Overview of EU Parliamentary Election Results
What kind of results define this EU parliamentary election? Pro Europeans across the board will be happy at least that more voters turned out than the previous election in 2014, bucking a downward trend that has been in effect since 1979. However, voting in some Member States remains worryingly low. The two largest traditional parties […]
Top Five Things To Look Out For Ahead Of The EU Elections 2019
All hail the kingmakers ahead of the EU parliamentary elections which start this Thursday (23rd) and conclude on Sunday (26th): On the assumption that the two traditional centre right and left political groupings fail to secure an overall majority, all eyes are on the liberals. Either this election crushes them, or we witness a renaissance. […]
What’s Lost in Translation? Merkel and Macron’s Estrangement Ahead of the EU Elections
How frustrated are the French over Chancellor Angela Merkel’s reluctance to back Emmanuel Macron’s progressive EU reforms? What will happen if France refuses to support the candidacy of the conservatives’ frontrunner Manfred Weber for EU Commission president? Listen to FTI experts Alexandre Houssard from Paris and Martin Kothé from Berlin explain the twists and turns […]
EU Elections – A View From Denmark
May 2019: Geelmuyden Kiese (GK) is part of FTI Consulting’s affiliate network and is Scandinavia’s largest communications agency. GK helps its customers manage change, communicate business plans, digital marketing, design, advertising, public affairs and public relations – telling their clients stories efficiently, both internally and externally. Below the team provides an update ahead of the […]
A View From The Netherlands
IvCB Public Affairs & Stakeholdermanagement is based in the Netherlands and is a Gold Affiliate partner within FTI Consulting’s international affiliate network. IvCB specialises in public affairs, stakeholder management, strategic communications and public strategy. They help their clients that contribute to society and have a good story to engage in constructive dialogues with politicians, society […]
A View From Italy
Cattaneo Zanetto & Co. is part of FTI Consulting’s affiliate network and is the leading Italian public affairs, lobbying and political intelligence firm. They provide a range of specialised services structured in dedicated practice areas. Each practice has a specific set of tools and methods to make sure we’re always on the edge with creativity […]
A View From Denmark
Geelmuyden Kiese (GK) is part of FTI Consulting’s affiliate network and is Scandinavia’s largest communications agency. GK helps its customers manage change, communicate business plans, digital marketing, design, advertising, public affairs and public relations – telling their clients stories efficiently, both internally and externally. Below the team provides an update ahead of the forthcoming national […]
A View From: Czechia
News from FTI Consulting’s European affiliate network May 2019: CEC Government Relations is part of FTI Consulting’s affiliate network and is the leading independent public affairs agency in Central Europe. They offer professional public affairs and strategic communications services to multinational clients across a full range of policy areas, including but not limited to Internal […]
EU Elections – A View From Germany
2019 is set to become a year of profound change for Germany, with elections in four states plus the European elections in May. The result of these elections may well determine the fate of Chancellor Angela Merkel who is in her last term in office and has already given up the leadership of her Christian […]
European Elections 2019 Preparing Business For A Year Of Change
2019 is going to be a year of major change for Europe with a new Commission appointed in November, but the biggest game changer is likely to be the European Parliament elections in May. The replacement of a significant number of MEPs could see the very real possibility of nationalist and populist parties holding the […]
The Future of Europe: What Comes Next?
As Europe prepares to go to the polls from 23rd May, the European Council, representing the Heads of State and Government of each of the Members of the Europe Union, meets in Romania for one of its last meetings of the current mandate. Top of the agenda for discussion will be the key findings of […]
Spain General Election- Results
FTI Consulting concludes the results of the Spanish general elections. Spain’s ruling Social Democrats (PSOE) won the most votes but fell short of an absolute majority in Sunday’s snap general election. With the highest voter turnout in the last two decades, the contest was marked by the breakthrough of the alt-right Vox party and the […]
EU Elections – A View from France
The coming European elections will have a peculiar flavour in France as they will be the first electoral test since Emmanuel Macron’s election in May 2017. Within this context, political parties have launched their campaigns, revealed their strategies and unveiled their candidates this month. The team at FTI Consulting reviews the election landscape. Please download […]
Spain General Election
With just six days to go before the Spanish general election (April 28th), FTI Consulting releases the results of its latest poll carried out between the 6th and the 9th of April. The results shed light on the electoral behaviour and social concerns of Spaniards ahead of the election, considered by many as the most […]
Strasbourg Diary II
It’s a wrap: Notre Dame a fitting metaphor for Europe as Parliament heads towards elections. The European Parliament convened one last time in Strasbourg before the European elections to adopt the remainder of the 350 legislative proposals tabled by Juncker Commission over the last five years. FTI Consulting Brussels surveys the mood music on the […]
The 2019 EU Elections and Why You Should Care
As part of our FTI Brussels’ #yearofchange campaign, we launched a video explaining why the forthcoming parliamentary elections are so important. With voter attendance falling across Europe it is vitally important that we encourage people to get out and vote.
The FTI Resilience Barometer 2019
FTI’s inaugural Resilience Barometer report highlights how G20 companies are managing in an interconnected, technologically disrupted and increasingly regulated world. This report shines a light on the key challenges they face as we head into 2019. Download to read more
FTI Research on UK Attitudes Towards Brexit
On the back of PM Theresa May’s Brexit agreement, cabinet resignations and a flurry of media coverage on the topic, FTI Consulting conducted research to help clients understand UK public opinion and voter perspective. Download to read more
The State of the Union Speech – A Time for Action
On 12 September Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker presented his last State of the Union speech to the European Parliament. Juncker made clear that a lot of work still lies ahead for the Commission and he presented a large number of initiatives which the Commission still has to tackle. In this snapshot we outline the main […]