There are three basic areas of the lobbying/public policy advocacy profession that we believe can be taught. There are three different sets of skills or abilities essential to the business of lobbying/public policy advocacy that can be taught: Knowledge, Communication and Messaging and Relationship Building.

Knowledge

While many entities are offering lobbying courses the certificates and/or degrees they deliver are not a licence to practice nor do the entities that issues them have the ability to de-certify a lobbyist for either malpractice or illegal conduct.

Our profession needs to get its house in order and education and certification should be our first order of business. The challenge for the leaders of our profession is to develop a training requirement that is affordable and effective. Equally, it is a challenge to the European institutions to work with us to accomplish this goal.

Article written by Reinier Musters, a principal in McKinsey’s Amsterdam office, Surya Ramkumar, consultant; Ellora-Julie Parekh , consultant in the London office. The article has been edited.

In a letter to President Putin that was written during the G20 summit in Antalya on Nov. 16, President Juncker stated he had recently emphasized the importance of "good relations between the European Union and Russia," which "have not been able to develop over the past year." The promises made by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to Russian President Vladimir Putin  is to “be a helpful partner” in the efforts to resume trade with Russia.

Written by Daniela Schwarzer, Senior Director for Research and Director of the European Programme and Ivan Vejvoda, Senior Vice President Programmes German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF).

"European policymakers have three prime tasks now. The first is to continue to show unequivocal solidarity with Paris and stand united. But European states must now work much more determinately toward a unified, robust response to the threat posed by the self-declared Islamic State group (ISIS). And they need to decide how to confront the multiple challenges posed to our societies.

European Commission

The European Commission should be the main player in coordinating action at a European level. Many topics have implications for a range of Commission functions. Therefore, there is a need for stronger coordination between these functions in addressing sustainable tourism. The Commission should report periodically to the Parliament and the Council on policies and actions to make tourism more sustainable.

Primary responsibilities include:

Intergroups are key components in the European Parliament's modus operandi, allowing members from different political groups to focus on specific political topics. Though it is only parliamentarians who can be formal members, Intergroups may comprise a variety of different actors, and interaction is characterised by interests, non-hierarchical negotiations, easy communication lines and trust. Some Intergroups are targeted by interest groups to such an extent that a fusion nearly happens, whereas others do not receive any attention at all.

Extract from PM David Cameron’s Speech at Chatham House (10/11/2015)

It is our view that tourism operators and industry bodies need to participate in or support the EU Tourism Priorities (2015-2020) as well as use, redefine and promote the deliverables. This includes integrating the work into their own sectoral strategies and plans and capitalizing on market opportunities.

Over the past 10 years, the Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI) has become the leading global business voice on anti-corruption and transparency. Comprising nearly 100 active companies, PACI is one of the strongest cross-industry collaborative efforts at the World Economic Forum. The initiative creates a more visible, dynamic and agenda-setting platform, working with committed business leaders, international organizations and governments to address corruption, transparency and emerging-market risks.

Objectives

The aims of the initiative are to: