Moscow is demanding that Kiev adopt a new constitution that provides for a decentralized model of government to regulate relations between the regions and capital. In practice this would mean the formation of autonomous states within Ukraine, where every region could decide its own budget, laws and governance, without the consent of  the Ukrainian government as as a whole.

The Joint Transparency Register Secretariat points out that in democracies, citizens have the right to freely convey their individual or collective views to decision-makers. They can naturally do so directly themselves, but they can also mandate intermediaries to represent them and advocate on their behalf. Public decision makers it goes to say need themselves a wide exposure and a wide diversity of input to be able to make informed decisions and to deliver appropriate policies matching realities.

By now, it is not only uncontested that assemblies in the Member States should be kept in the loop of the Union’s activities but also that national parliaments dispose of a full repertoire of different instruments to ensure they can play a direct role in the system.

Founded in 1993, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) has largely been a one-issue party; working to get Britain out of the EU. UKIP believes that the EU is not only bad for Britain’s economy and prosperity, but it is a system of government that will ultimately prove to be totally unacceptable to the British people. UKIP would replace Britain’s membership of the European Union with a kind of agreement on free trade and co-operation.

22-25 May 2014: European elections in each Member State. No results will be divulged before the end of the election process in all EU countries.

Multi-speed Europe or two-speed Europe (called also variable geometry Europe or Core Europe depending on the form it would take in practice) is the idea that different parts of the European Union should integrate at different levels and pace depending on the political situation in each individual country. Indeed, multi-speed Europe is currently a reality, with only a subset of EU countries members of the eurozone and of the Schengen area.

New entrants to the diplomatic arena represents different groupings and organisations of local, national and international interests. These divergent forces co-exist with each other and exercise different forms of diplomatic influence to achieve their objectives. These newly emerged diplomatic functions and roles can be categorized in the following manner:

According to Public Affairs Council President Doug Pinkham “public affairs is the most important function that nobody understands”. It is certainly much easier to walk into a party and introduce yourself as a ‘lobbyist’ though even that term may be rather mysterious (and often negative) to most. It is worth considering therefore what these job descriptions cover, not least within the context of ‘European Public Affairs’.

In the United States, the federal Lobbying Disclosure Act defines "lobbying activity" as "any efforts in support of such contacts, including preparation or planning activities, research and other background work that is intended, at the time of its preparation, for use in contacts and coordination with the lobbying activities of others." An individual must register as a lobbyist if they spend more than 20 percent of their time on "lobbying activity."

The Transparency Register exempts accredited diplomats, consular officials, and other recognized foreign government representatives from its requirements. Furthermore  a person engaging or agreeing to engage only in private and non-political activities in furtherance of the bona fide trade or commerce of a foreign principal is also not subject to the registration requirement.