The Index here below breaks down the EU 28 into three groups. Groupe I: Countries that are most friendly towards Russia, Group II: Countries that neither friendly nor unfriendly towards Russia, and Group III: Countries that are the most unfriendly towards Russia. The purpose of this Index is to provide a rough guide to the views across Europe on Russia.

Groupe I : Most Friendly Countries towards Russia (in descending orders) Doves

AALEP has formally developed a Competency Framework for public policy advocates. Competency in public policy advocacy is the foundation of our profession. In a dynamic and rapidly changing world, a public policy advocate’s knowledge and skills must be continuously expanded to meet increasing complex problems and issues and to enhance the value added by public policy advocacy work.

Competence is the ability to perform the tasks and roles expected of a professional public policy advocate, whether newly qualified or experienced, to the standards expected by employers and the general public . Statements of competence are typically developed through a comprehensive practice analysis .

Competency is a specific behaviour whereby a professional applies knowledge, skills, and/or professional values in a work environment; the behaviour can be defined, demonstrated, observed, and assessed.

Based on  “Sustainable Governance Indicators” (SGI) project. Bertelsmanns Stiftung.

The SGI explores the extent to which citizens, NGOs and other organizations are endowed with the participatory competence to hold government accountable to its actions (“executive accountability”).

For several years now, AALEP has sensed the need to become more involved in quality control measures in the field of public policy advocacy. As an illustration is AALEP's Executive Certificate in Public Policy Advocacy. AALEP delivers practical, hands-on approaches to the REAL practice of public policy advocacy.

Following the European elections in May 2014, the EU institutions will have to rise to the dual challenge of delivering better results in a more democratic way and reconciling increased differentiation with the need for a closer Union.

Over the past 10 years, the field of public policy advocacy (PPA) (including lobbying, government relations, public affairs and related terms)  has experienced extraordinary growth in the number of practitioners as well as those seeking their services. One potential  downside of the increased recognition of the practice of public policy advocacy is an influx of individuals seeking to prosper from this opportunity who may have little or no training or experience in public policy advocacy placing both the consumers of their services and the field at large at risk.

India's general election, the largest democratic exercise in history will start on 7 April. Voters will elect 543 members of the lower house of parliament, which will then select the country's next prime minister.

The old explanation for Euroscepticism was the alleged existence of a democratic deficit within the EU. Decisions, critics said, were taken by unaccountable institutions rather than elected national governments. But the current crisis is born not of a clash between Brussels and the member states but a clash between the democratic wills of citizens in northern and southern Europe, the so-called centre and periphery. And both sides are now using the EU institutions to advance their interests.

AALEP is pleased to announce the opening of its Representative Office in Australia. The Representative Office will be headed by Ms. Mary Jardine Clarke who is a Principal at Clarke Corporate Communications in Perth, Western Australia.