6th January 2012
In January 2011, I wrote a blog called “Is Ukraine free?” In it, I noted that for 2011, in the ranking produced by the US-based NGO Freedom House, Ukraine fell back into the “Partly Free” category, having been in the “Free” category every year since 2005. Being in the “Partly Free” category, with a score […]
16th December 2011
Australian readers of this blog will be wondering what the latest headlines about the UKs’ relationship with Europe are all about. The complexities of Europe’s institutional structures are hard enough to follow if you’re living there, let alone observing the continent from 10,000 miles away. In essence, the latest developments flow from the problems of […]
15th December 2011 Beirut, Lebanon
I have now been in Beirut over three months. The Lebanese tell me that the more you learn about this extraordinary country, the less you understand. So I fear that my first impressions could become more confused over the next three years. The contrasts of Lebanon are a well worn cliché, but still hit the […]
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6th December 2011
What would the great Welshman and founder of Donetsk, John Hughes, think of Ukraine today? I was privileged to be invited to Donetsk recently to give the inaugural John Hughes memorial speech. My audience was the Donetsk Chamber of Commerce and the British Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce. In the speech I paid tribute to John […]
5th December 2011
I was honoured to be the guest speaker at University College London’s (UCL) first ever overseas graduation ceremony in Adelaide last week. UCL is a great British institution, regularly ranked in the top ten universities in the world. It recently established its first overseas campus – a School of Energy and Resources – in South […]
2nd December 2011
I was in Sydney this week with the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, who are conducting a study on gambling. The group consisted of three Conservatives, one Lib Dem and one Labour MP, and was led by committee chair John Whittingdale MP, who I used to work with 25 years ago […]
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25th November 2011
Our Armed Forces Minister, Nick Harvey MP, was in Canberra and Sydney this week. He had a series of meetings with the Defence Department Ministerial team – Stephen Smith, Warren Snowdon and Jason Clare, and met a very broad range of senior officials and military officers. There was much to talk about. The Minister and […]
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18th November 2011
I’ve referred in two recent blogs, What next for Ukraine and What next for Ukraine #2, to what needs to happen in order to move towards the signature and ratification of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. There has been good progress recently on negotiating the nuts and bolts of the Agreement, and hopes are rising that […]
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18th November 2011
Hot on the heels of the visit by HM The Queen, Canberra played host to US President Obama this week. I attended a dinner at the Parliament and a key note speech he gave to a joint session of both houses of Parliament. By chance I found myself sitting next to PM Gillard’s partner Tim […]
14th November 2011
Last week I accompanied Sir Gus O’Donnell, Head of the British Civil Service for some calls in Canberra on his way back from CHOGM. He met Australia’s “200 Group”, a collection of the country’s top 200 federal civil servants, and gave a fascinating talk drawing on his experience of delivering change, and improved performance across […]
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