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The climate crisis and gender-based violence
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Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
30th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Art of Debate
There’s a new sport being played in schools across Romania – debating. Actually this sport comes in two variations. The team sport is debating and the individual sport is public speaking. Over the last week I participated in both – as chairman of the judges in the Romanian national final of the English Speaking Union’s […]
30th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Why should Ukraine integrate with Europe?
I’ve been in Warsaw this week meeting Polish and British colleagues and having my first good look around the city since I first visited it in 1987. It’s always interesting to compare neighbours, and the comparison between Poland and Ukraine tells us a good bit about both. This is particularly relevant as the negotiations on the proposed […]
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29th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Competitiveness, not complacency
On Tuesday 15 March, Professor Dan Hamilton of Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Transatlantic Relations in DC hosted a panel discussion to launch "Europe 2020 – Competitive or Complacent". Professor Hamilton warned that 2020 was the closing window for Europe within which it needed to position itself into a competitive place in an increasingly inter-connected […]
29th March 2011 New York, USA
Green Growth in Pennsylvania
Guest blog by Greg Barker, Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change. This week, Mr. Barker is leading a six-company business delegation to Pennsylvania, DC, North Carolina and South Carolina. An interesting lexicon is developing as our society and our global economy changes: wOOt- an electronic expression of enthusiasm. Bajillion- a large number. Shovel-ready. Game-changer- […]
29th March 2011 Islamabad, Pakistan
Doing Business with Pakistan
The UK is a long standing partner and ally of Pakistan and both our nations have a lot to gain from improving trade between our two countries. In this video blog, Adam Thomson talks about attending the “Doing Business with Pakistan” conference in London in February 2011, and the benefits of strengthening UK-Pakistan trade and […]
29th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Chernobyl Charity Walk
Can you walk 110 kilometres in 24 hours? That’s the distance from the centre of Kyiv to the edge of the Chernobyl exclusion zone north of Kyiv. With the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster coming up at the end of April, a group of volunteers from the British and French embassies in Kyiv are […]
28th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Visiting Western Australia, with its vast natural resources
Last week I was away from Canberra travelling all week. That’s par for the course when you’re based in a continent-sized country. We hosted a large reception in Sydney to mark the milestone of “500 Days To Go” before the London 2012 Olympics. This attracted a lot of interest in a city which hosted one […]
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28th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
UK investment: from Britain to Romania to the World
British companies are not just investing in Romania to reach the Romanian market. The new business model is to invest in Romania to reach markets across the world. Why? Because Romania’s workforce is among the best and most competitive in Europe. I saw two examples on visits to Brasov and Sibiu last week. GlaxoSmithKline established […]
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28th March 2011 Bucharest, Romania
And the winner is…
A film of many stars, with great actors and a truly inspirational storyline, “The King’s Speech” has been running across cinemas in Romania for a few weeks already. It is great to see its international impact, and recognition by a very demanding industry. I really enjoyed it and laughed much more than usual! I heard […]
28th March 2011 Bucharest, Romania
Guest blogger: The other side of Roma integration
Every now and then something happens and the debate about integration of the Roma minority in Romania is reignited. In 2010 it was the repatriation of several hundred Romanian Roma from France. Last year the attention of media, civil society, other Member States and the European Commission has turned once more to this subject. So […]
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