The Italian government has announced that a much-anticipated referendum on constitutional reform is to be held on December 4th 2016. The aim is to make Italy, a more governable country. Currently, the two legislative chambers have equal powers, so bills must go between them until they are approved in identical form. The constitutional-reform bill would drastically curb the power of the Senate. The referendum proposes to radically transform the Senate – from a chamber of 315 directly elected politicians and six lifetime appointees to smaller “Senate of Regions”.

The role that the media industry plays in Washington poses a threat to democracy. Twenty years ago, President Bill Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The act, signed into law on February 8, 1996, was essentially bought and paid for by corporate media lobbies, and radically opened the floodgates on mergers.

Lobbying is any attempt by individuals or private interest groups to influence the decisions of governments or the votes of legislators. While both corporate diplomacy  and lobbying try to influence on the external sphere, there are fundamental differences:

1. A.P. Moller-Maersk Group
2. ABB Group-Automation and Power Technologies
3. Air Liquie S.A.
4. ALROSA
5. Anglo American plc
6. Anheuser-Bush InBev
7. ArcelorMittal SA
8. ARM Holdings
9. ASML Holding
10. Associated British Foods
11. AstraZeneca plc
12. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria BBVA
13. BASF SE
14. Bayer
15. BG Group plc
16. Bhp Billiton
17. BMW AG
18. British American Tobacco
19. BT Group plc
20. Carlsberg Group
21. Carrefour A
22. Christian Dior SA

Author: Rui Manuel Monteiro, MBA, University of Porto, Portugal 2013

CORPORATE DIPLOMACY INTERVENTION (Ranked by Importance)

1. AUSTRIA http://www.bmeia.gv.at
2. BELGIUM http://www.diplomatie.be
3. BULGARIA http://www.mfa.bg/en/
4. CROATIA http://www.mvep.hr
5. CYPRUS http://www.mfa.gov.cy
6. CZECH REPUBLIC http://www.mfcr.cz
7. DENMARK http://um.dk/da
8. ESTONIA http://vm.ee

COM(2016) 627 final 28.09.2016

The Commission has proposed a mandatory Transparency Register, based on a new Interinstitutional Agreement (IIA) covering the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the Commission. The proposal aims to strengthen and extend the current scheme which covers only the European Parliament and the Commission.

Author: Witold Hinisz

Corporate Diplomacy is the strategic management of relationships with external stakeholders – not just canny PR - which creates real and lasting business value. The interconnected nature of communications, government affairs, risk management, and sustainability creates a compelling business case for an integrated, strategic approach to stakeholder relations.

Corporate Diplomacy Tools  

I. ROLE REQUISITES OF A CORPORATE DIPLOMAT

Business leaders are expected to be corporate diplomats but corporate diplomacy is not about turning businessmen into part-time politicians or statesmen. Rather, it involves corporations taking part in creating, enforcing, and changing the rules of the game that govern the conduct of business. It goes well beyond delegating external communications and lobbying to a public relations agency or a law firm.