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18th January 2011 London, UK
Encouraging more Britons to apply for EU jobs
At the end of last week I was in Hungary for the first meeting of Europe Ministers under the Hungarian Presidency of the EU. Whilst there I discussed how to encourage more Britons to apply for the many interesting and challenging jobs available in EU institutions with Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič. You can hear […]
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18th January 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
When exactly is dawn?
We are already well into the Hungarian Presidency, with Ministers and senior officials pouring in from other EU countries for Presidency meetings. In the last week we have had meetings of Europe Directors; Political Directors: and Europe Ministers for a GAC or General Affairs Council (all from Foreign Ministries); we are in the middle of […]
17th January 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A man and his tongue
In a week where The Social Network, the film about the creation of the Facebook website, has been dominating the Golden Globe awards in the US, it’s great to see politicians uniting to reinforce the freedom of information in Ukraine. On 13 January the Rada adopted two important laws on access to public information. The […]
14th January 2011 New York, USA
Royal Rendezvous!
Guest blog: Lauren Stone, Vice Consul, Consumer Goods- UK Trade & Investment I had a unique opportunity last night to be part of a group of spectators gathered to bid farewell to the Queen Victoria, Queen Mary 2, and Queen Elizabeth as they left New York Harbour. This was an historic occasion—only the second time […]
14th January 2011 Ottawa, Canada
Elinor moves on to other adventures!
Well, I guess it’s almost that time, time for our fabulous intern, who has been with us since October, to move on to her next adventure. She’s been a lot of fun to have around, extremely helpful, and will be greatly missed by all of us (me and Gill in particular). I’ve asked Elinor to […]
12th January 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A way to improve Ukrainian democracy in 2011
In what world ranking of democracy does Ukraine score three of the top eight places? As part of its end-year summary of the events of 2010, the respected British newspaper The Guardian recently published a picture gallery entitled “The Year in Parliamentary Punch-Ups“. The piece features pictures from Italy, Turkey, Nigeria, Taiwan, Argentina and Ukraine. […]
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8th January 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Passing on the Baton
Hungary is now officially Presidency of the Council of the European Union. I was present at a short and dignified ceremony on 6 January, in the spectacular Dome Hall of the Hungarian Parliament, when the Prime Minister of Belgium formally handed over this important function in the presence of a large audience of Ministers, officials, […]
6th January 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Saint Thomas a Becket
We are in Esztergom on 5 January, for an annual ecumenical commemoration ceremony for Saint Thomas a Becket. The service takes place on top of the hill facing the Cathedral, on which Saint Thomas’s small chapel stands, in icy weather. This part of the event is kept brief – some short readings and prayers. I […]
5th January 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
An exciting start to the New Year
I think it is true to say that Bolivia has been one of the more exciting places to be over Christmas and New Year – and I am not talking about the fireworks! One of the things I have noticed during my three and a half years here, is the tendency of Bolivians to focus very […]
5th January 2011 Ottawa, Canada
CFI Annual General Meeting
Now that I’ve given you all a more general overview of some of the Ottawa science events that have been keeping me on my toes, I thought I’d follow-up with a couple of shorter, slightly more detailed blogs on certain events that caught my attention. The CFI AGM was one such event, mostly as a result of […]