Lobbying is not just a rich-country phenomenon. It is already present in at least some of the less developed countries and is slowly replacing bribery as a means of influencing government policies.

Many foreign investors find that frequently, they have little or no control over external events which can adversely affect the commercial viability of their investments and future business plans in foreign countries. These developments include:

The new proposed EC Regulations aim at drawing a line under the eurozone debt crisis by granting Brussels sweeping new powers to scrutinize national budgets and in extreme cases "administer" countries struggling with uncontrollable debt levels.

Once adopted by eurozone member states, these new regulations will be directly applicable under national law

The views and proposals for restoring growth in the EU endorsed by 12 countries including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and Poland which together represent half of the EU population are not included in the draft text of the European Council Summit. And yet the proposals made called for clear targets and timetables setting outy dates and accountability. Just in the international area, the plan for growth highlighted definite objectives for delivering open global markets e.g.

According to the latest Eurostat report for January, there are currently 16.92 million people unemployed in the eurozone. This represents 10.7% of the active working population. 1. Spain (23.3%) 1 person out of 4 is without work 2. Greece (20%) 1 person out of 5 is without work 3. Ireland and Portugal (14.8%) 1 person out of 7 is without work 4. France (10%) 1 person out of 10 is without work 5. Italy (9.2%) 6. Germany (5.8%) 7. Luxembourg (5.1%) 8. Netherlands (5.0%) 9. Austria (4.0%).

The Russian concept of sovereign democracy is centred around two core ideas. First is the idea of sovereignty. This concept is understood as non-interference from the West. Second is the idea that Russia has its own set of values. These values are democratic but they emerge from Russia's unique historical experience, and they are distinct from what the West understands as democracy. Thus, Russia's democracy should not necessarily corresponds to Western standards of democracy. The idea of 'sovereign democracy' has a number of functions.

Ironically, European integration has further driven acceptance of English as the de facto lingua franca in Europe. Nominally, all EU languages have equal status, but there is now no chance of any of them replacing English. Also, English's Germanic base and largely Romance upper vocabulary make it sort of compromise between the Romance and Germanic language families, though this is not what drove adoption; economics and politics did.

Here below are twelve reasons for engaging in effective government relations in emerging markets:

1. An effective strategy for success in emerging markets must be based on a company's business objectives. Achieving those objectives demands careful planning and attention to the political environment and key policies. It also requires professional team members and significant resources.

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and NGOs constitute a complementary and powerful force aiming at their achievement of their common objectives in promoting and assisting industrialization. The contribution of industrial and business associations and chambers of commerce and cooperatives to industrial development are equally important as the contribution of development NGOs, technical and professional associations such as AALEP, trade and consumer unions, public interest groups, research and development institutions, foundations and universities.

GRP stands for Government Relations Professional. The work of a GRP involves three key aspects:

1. Monitoring: Continuous and close attention to the law and the rule-making processes at the local, national, European and international level providing the client the most up-to-date information potentially affecting their business environment.