The "Europe Day" on 9 May marks the anniversary of the 'Schuman Declaration', the pivotal moment that led to the creation of what is today the European Union. On 9 May 1950 In Paris  against the background of the threat of a Third World War engulfing the whole of Europe, the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman read to the international press a declaration calling France, Germany and other European countries to pool together their coal and steel production as "the first concrete foundation of a European federation".

Often foreign countries when communicating with the EU send  wrong messages that only serve to reinforce the unfavourable views already held by people. They should use Western advisors to craft the proper messages. Often words come from foreign countries well after negative Western media coverage or sometimes, there is no communication. Foreign countries need to delegate responsibility for communicating their viewpoints to their national embassies or missions in Brussels.

Lobbying is still a tricky affair for many foreign companies trying to make their way in China. In China one often does not hear about laws until they have already been enacted. Even knowing whom to lobby is hard.

European Chambers of Commerce established in third countries provide European businesses with a channel of communication and lobbying to the country's political and economic authorities as well as business associations.

Indeed, they represent the main advocacy organisation on the front lines in the third country where they are present, dealing with the host government, issuing position papers and engaging in regular business-government dialogues.

Increasingly, foreign governments like corporations draw on public relations and public affairs initiatives to support their marketing efforts. Like companies, countries have to position themselves and promote their competitive advantages. Indeed, globalization has brought the need of strategic positioning to the fore.

According to the Economist, the economic growth of Vietnam in the 2011-2015 period is expected to reach an average 7.2% per year thanks to the strong growth of consumer, investment and exports.

European businesses are more and more optimistic about Vietnam's environment. and have great expectations of doing business in the country. BNParisbas forecasts that Vietnam's economy will grow 6.5% this year. The figures for Vietnam are impressive: Last year

AALEP President Christian D. de Fouloy will meet in Brussels tomorrow with the recently appointed Chair of the Committee on Government Relations (Mr. Oleg Rumyantsev) of the Russian Public Relations Association (PACO). According to Mr. Rumyantsev 'In Russia there is no association of lobbyists and the need for institutionalization in our industry is long overdue'. Strategic objectives of the Russian Committee on Government Relations include the following:

AALEP has just published a comprehensive listing of the Top 200 French Public Affairs Practitioners that provides a comprehensive alphabetical display by Names and Function and by Entities (Firms/Companies/Association.

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU) will hold their first-ever Business Summit on 5 May 2011 in Jakartat. Hosted by the Indonesia Chair of ASEAN and the European Union, the ASEAN-EU Business Summit will be opened by the President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The ASEAN-EU Business Summit is a high-level forum for business and government to address critical issues related to EU-ASEAN trade relations, while identifying new business and investment opportunities on both sides.

Movers and Shakers are people of energetic demeanour who initiate change and influence events. AALEP has just published a report of the leading and most influential Public Affairs practitioners associated with consultancies. There are an estimated 600 to 700 people working for PA consultancies in Brussels. The AALEP report only includes the most prominent by virtue of their function ( Managing Directors, Heads of Office, Senior Partners, Partners and Directors).