L’influence des maçons se développe de manière diffuse, par capillarité, parce qu’on retrouve beaucoup de frères dans les cabinets ministériels, les administrations et les milieux politiques. Résultat : des connivences naissent dans les loges, des informations circulent et des petits services s’échangent. La solidarité obligée et le secret maçonnique que partagent les francs maçons nourrissent, par conséquent, un certain copinage invisible, souvent au détriment de profanes, privés de ces clés d’influence.

GRANDE LOGE FÉMININE DE FRANCE (GLFF)

Representation of City by liaising with

• EU institutions: European Commission, European Parliament, Committee of the Regions, European Economic and Social Committee, and other institutions operating in Brussels,
• National diplomatic posts: Permanent Representation to the EU, National Embassy in the Kingdom of Belgium
• Cities associations and networks representing cities (e.g. EUROCITIES, Cities for Cohesion etc.)

Promotion of City  by

1. Régions (13) New Regions coming into force in 2017

Several European Union Member States have special territories which, for historical, geographical, or political reasons, enjoy special status within or outside the European Union. These statuses range from no or limited derogation from EU policies, to limited inclusion in EU policies, to none at all. Most of the territories which are outside the EU nonetheless have a special relationship with the EU.

The creation of the different Autonomous Communities in Spain took place through a complex procedure from 1979 until 1983. The Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia and Andalusia were the first ones to adopt their own Statutes of Autonomy (Estatutos de Autonomía). The remaining regions also adopted their own Statutes so that today all the Autonomous Communities enjoy important autonomy and have legislative powers. In addition, Ceuta and Melilla, the two Spanish Autonomous Cities located in Northern Africa, also adopted their own Statutes in 1995.

1. Find the resources to lobby effectively: NGOs often assume that industries having recourse to consultants and expense accounts have limitless resources for lobbying. This is not true except if their markets are likely to be affected either positively or negatively by a particular regulatory standard. It is difficult for more scattered interests only partially or indirectly affected or people campaigning for a more general interest to match the financial power of the narrow vested interest at stake.

Lobbying of the European Union (EU) needs to become more transparent and open to public scrutiny. EU policy-makers should therefore collect and disclose comprehensive information on who influences whom in the European Union EU decision-making process to ensure a level playing field for all interest representatives and thus balanced legislative outcomes. It will help to ensure that legislation has the public interest at its heart and that the risks of corruption, conflicts of interest and regulatory capture are reduced.

The EP International Trade Committee backs up plans to disburse €1.8 billion in medium-term loans to help Ukraine out of its economic recession. The loans will top up financial help from other donors under an economic programme put together by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This additional money will make an important contribution to a new package of international support to Ukraine, both directly, through the approved amount of €1.8 billion and indirectly, by mobilising other partners' contributions.

With all major central banks pursuing expansionary monetary policies, oil prices falling sharply, and the ongoing revolution in information technology spurring investment opportunities, the prospects for economic growth in 2015 and beyond are better than they look to the pessimists.

António Vitorino, a Portuguese lawyer by profession since 1982, has been an associate at the law firm Cuatrecasas,Gonçalves Pereira & Associados since 2005. Elected to parliament in 1980, he was Minister for Parliamentary Affairs in the government of Mario Soares (1983-85), then Deputy Secretary in the government of Macau (1986-87). He was a judge on Portugal's constitutional court (1989-94) before being elected MEP in 1994. In 1995 he became Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Portugal.