Credit Default Swaps and Negative Credit Default Swaps are one of the major causes of the financial crisis we are in, and in particular for a country like Greece since those who hold Negative Credit Default Swaps have been lobbying hard to force a default on Greece's debt by insisting on severe measures against Greece and lobbying Governments to up the interest charged on the debts that Greece owes, or on future loans they may wish to take out.

 AALEP has appointed Mr. George Stavri as Secretary General of the Association. George, a native of Cyprus, born in 1961 completed all his academic studies at Stanford University in multiple degrees, i.e. Economics (W/Honors), Political Science (W/Honors) and International Trade and Finance. While at Stanford, George read Political Science with Dr. Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State and was in the same class as H.R.H.

Although registration in the EU Transparency Register does not confer an automatic right to a long term pass to enter the premises of the European Parliament, it is nevertheless clearly stated that obtaining a long term pass presupposes prior registration in the Register.

In the United States a clear difference exists between registration and wearing a badge.

AALEP Chair Christian D. de Fouloy met on 20 June 2011 with Dr. Salwa Fawzia El-Deghali, a distinguished Member of the Libyan Transitional National Council (TNC) within the framework of a workshop held at the European Parliament on the 'Role of Women in the Democratisation Process in Arab Countries' organised by the Committee for Women Rights and Gender Equality, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Development and the Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Delegation for the relations with the Maghreb countries of the European Parliament.