20th March 2013 Bucharest, Romania
I invited our colleague Ian Saunders to tell us more about our network of Chevening alumni and scholars with whom we reconnected recently. Ian, you have the floor! Attended by nearly 60 fellows and scholars and hosted by the Ambassador at his residence the gathering was a night of pleasant mix of networking and socialising. Among our […]
1st March 2013 Ottawa, Canada
It’s well known that the Year of the Dragon is one of the luckiest years in the Chinese calendar; to the Welsh, every year is the year of the dragon, and the red dragon proudly adorns the Flag of Wales. But today is a particularly special day in the Welsh calendar – St David’s Day…
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25th February 2013
I was in Poiana Brasov last week to support Team GB at the European Youth Olympic Winter Festival. I spent two days on the slopes, and brought my three daughters along too to watch the figure skating – their favourite sport. For many of the young British athletes and their coaches this was their first […]
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14th February 2013
While in Sibiu, I was challenged by the regional blogging community to do a video blog about my trip. So here it is. Find out more about my meetings with the local authorities and the British businesses.
27th December 2012
Shortly after the Romanian Government presented its programme I tweeted on @HMAMartinHarris my pick of the top five priorities to be taken forward in 2013. In five tweets: 1. Implementing the IMF agreement. RO has done well on fiscal consolidation. Now it’s time to progress on structural reforms and tax evasion. 2. Judicial reform. Implementing […]
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27th November 2012
On Tuesday last week I gave up my seat as Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Romania to Nicoleta Ghita, a very confident and capable young lady from Sector 5 in Bucharest. This was part of Child Takeover Day – an initiative that started in the UK and has been brought to Romania for the first time […]
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26th November 2012
I gave a lecture to a very engaged and smart group of students at the Institute for International Relations at Cluj University on Wednesday last week. You can find the text here. It draws on my experience working in countries in transition over the last twenty years, and draws the conclusion that the concept of […]
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9th November 2012 Vancouver, Canada
I have loved the James Bond movies since I was seven: the lone man fighting for a just cause, willing to sacrifice himself for what he believes; the distant and exotic foreign worlds, filled with mountain peaks and tropical forests; the deadly animals and deadlier villains; the even more exotic women – my goodness; and […]
25th October 2012
Across Europe, from Romania to the UK – more specifically from Sighisoara to Shropshire – there is a fraternity between the fire services of our different countries. On Saturday I was privileged to attend a ceremony to hand over three fire engines donated by the people of Shropshire for use in Mures and Brasov counties […]
18th October 2012
179 years ago today the British Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act, outlawing the slave trade after years of courageous campaigning by William Wilberforce and others who spoke out against the exploitation of men and women and opposed the vested economic interests in this vile business. Unfortunately this trade continues today, here in Europe. Last […]