13th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Clearly energy will be a prominent feature of our work in connection with Hungary’s EU Presidency throughout the spring. The Commission published its Low Carbon Roadmap on 8 March and UK diplomatic efforts are now focussed on raising Europe’s ambitions to build a low carbon economy. This effort is especially relevant in Central and Eastern […]
Read more on Mapping the Road to a Low Carbon Future | Reply
9th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The UK is strongly committed to the European Union’s enlargement process. And so on 9 March the UK’s Minister for Europe David Lidington will give a keynote speech on EU Enlargement in the Hague. We are not only convinced about the value of enlargement but have played a leading role in driving it through. We […]
Read more on Including our friends | Reply
2nd March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
On 1 March the Welsh flag was flying outside the British Embassy as we marked St David’s Day. And several staff were wearing dragon or daffodil badges in their lapels to recognise the patron saint of Wales. (I even persuaded the Australian Ambassador to wear a daffodil alongside his kangaroo.) The date marks the anniversary […]
Read more on Dragons and daffodils | Reply
25th February 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Earlier this week I sat with the UK Sports Minister and leading members of the Hungarian Olympics and Paralympics Committees. Hugh Robertson was visiting to attend the Sports Ministerial Informal meeting at Gödöllő and at the end of his programme made time to meet our partners and ask what we could do to help them […]
Read more on Engaging on the Games | Reply
16th February 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Last night the Embassy was full of tour operators, agencies and attraction owners from Hungary and the UK, but also from Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Serbia and Slovakia. They had spent the day in a seminar and tailored meetings organised by Visit Britain – the organisation that markets Britain overseas and develops the […]
Read more on The Britain Brand | Reply
11th February 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Presidency work at the British Embassy in Budapest is not confined to formal Presidency calendar events. We are also assisting with the intensive bilateral engagement of UK Ministers and senior officials with their Hungarian counterparts. Thanks to the heightened UK interest in all things Hungarian these days, these exchanges often go beyond immediate EU policy […]
Read more on The green race | Reply
9th February 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Today the British Government launches its Trade and Investment White Paper. This is our statement to our trade and investment partners across the world, including Hungary, about how we plan to work together for mutual benefit. It’s about: Maximising the opportunities for businesses in the UK to trade and invest, and attracting investment to the […]
Read more on Delivering on Trade and Investment | Reply
9th February 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
On Friday the Embassy was packed with Mayors and Deputy Mayors from across the country, engaging with senior staff and managers from Tesco. It was a chance for this British-based company to thank them for all those two-way, mutually satisfactory arrangements that exist in many Hungarian towns and cities where there are Tesco stores. And […]
Read more on Creating jobs the practical way | Reply
2nd February 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
I should probably explain why I was sampling some very good beer at Dreher Breweries in the middle of the afternoon yesterday. I was at an event called “Making a difference through beer”! And I was trying my best to make that difference. This was actually one of a series of events run by the […]
Read more on Making a difference through beer | Reply
31st January 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Tonight we have brought high strategy and culture together. Some 50 students from the Advanced Command and Staff Course (ACSC) run by the UK Defence Academy are in town to learn about Hungary – including students from Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Georgia, Germany, India, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the UAE […]
Read more on Hard and Soft Diplomacy Combined | Reply
