Five members of the euro currency union are receiving loans from the eurozone bailout fund, financed by the other 12 eurozone members. On top of that come emergency loans from the International Monetary fund (IMF) and bilateral loans from the solvent states to the bankrupt candidates.

Integrity cannot be legislated. There will always be people who follow the rules right to the letter, there are always those who will actively look at how to skirt or bend that same rules or look at the rules as a hindrance.

The OECD defines 'lobbying' as solicited communication, oral or written, with a public official to influence legislation, policy or administrative decisions and recognizes that although 'lobbying' most often focuses on the legislative branch, it does also occur within the executive and sub-national governments as well, for example by influencing the design of development projects and the award of contracts.

The OECD is currently carrying out new data collection and analysis of the lobbying situation in OECD member and non-member countries. In this regard, the study seeks to gain insight into the rules and guidelines governing lobbying by collecting first hand views from individual public affairs professionals and lobbyists.

While in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina, AALEP has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) respectively with the Croatian Lobbyists Society, the Serbian Lobbyists Society, the Montenegro Lobbyists Society and the Macedonian Lobbyist Center.

Each MOU establishes a framework for both parties to work together in an effort to offer joint seminars and facilitate the exchange of professional expertise in the area of public policy advocacy and lobbying.

The ability to proactively shape debate by directly engaging with the public early on is critical. Of course shaping public debate is easier said than done, and the evolution of debate is hardly linear. It’s messy, complex, grueling, and gets exponentially more difficult for communications to influence as it grows over time. Best then is to influence public opinion before issues become legislative priorities.

Cyprus faces years of economic hardship. The country’s economy is estimated to contract a whopping 13 percent over the next two years. By contrast, Turkey with a population of almost 75 million boasts an annual output of $ 800 billion compared to Cyprus $ 24 billion. The International Monetary Fund predicts Turkey will grow 3.4 percent this year and 3.7 percent next.

In the past six months, questions have arisen about what France is offering in terms of fresh ideas, and how it is dealing with the rest of Europe. To be certain, France has not opted into the market of ideas for a more political Europe and how it could be organized. There's a shrinking presence, a progressive disappearance of France on most issues that concern the economic agenda. Some European diplomats from a range of member states say that France's voice is nowhere to be heard.

In order to enable individuals and entities to develop their competencies to use public policy advocacy tools and mechanisms effectively and raise their awareness of participation in the decision-making process, the delivery of a multi-modular training programme is viewed as a crucial activity.

National sovereignty, sometimes used to mean national independence, has to be viewed against the background of the interdependence of modern states.