European Business Organisations outside the EU are essential in the internationalization process of European companies in foreign markets. They defend and foster European business interests in the host country, mainly through advocacy and trade policy initiatives. In South America, bi-national chambers and trade offices offer information services, workshops, networking activities, trade missions and fairs.

Noteworthy is

Ms. Patricia Baroni who runs her Paris-based consultancy ATINUM organized an important event colloqium in Juan-les-Pins on the French Riviera bringing together 150 persons on the subject of sustainable marine development in the presence of Ms. Maud Fontenoy a French sailor known for her rowings across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and Founder of the Maud Foundation 'Save Marine Biodiversity'

AALEP has entered into a Protocol of Cooperation with the European Business Group in India (EBGI) Country Council, whereby AALEP joins EBGI as an Associate Member and reciprocally EBGI joins AALEP as an Associate Member. It should be pointed out that Associate Membership does not confer any right for either organization to vote at annual meetings but it does provide entitlement to participate in meetings, events, projects and programmes.

The vision of AALEP is to influence the direction of the global lobbying and advocacy profession. AALEP’s aim is to manage, develop and operate certification, education and related programmes for lobbying organisations to benefit the global community by establishing, upholding and promoting worldwide professional standards in lobbying and advocacy. The profession is highly competitive and like many other industries it has become difficult to penetrate the world over without a postgraduate degree or specific qualification, in addition to relevant industry experience.

In July 2011,  16 EU Member States’ were showing trade deficits: Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom.

A trade account deficit may be a symptom of a wider structural economic problem i.e. a loss of competitiveness in foreign markets, insufficient investment in new capital or a shift in comparative advantage towards other countries.

In June 1958 the British announced a plan to maintain the international status quo of Cyprus for seven years but also to establish representative government and communal autonomy. Archbishop Makarios and the Greek and Turkish governments rejected the British plan, but on October 1st,  the British put a modified version of it into effect. Talks held in 1959 among the various parties led to an agreement on the general features of a constitution for an independent Republic of Cyprus. The status of the republic was guaranteed by Britain, Turkey, and Greece.

India and the European Union: Perceptions and Policies was a paper written by Rajendra KJain, Professor of European Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. The paper was presented at the European Studies in Asia (ESiA) Network Public Panel, "EU-Asian Relations: Policies and Perceptions of the EU in Malaysia,", Asia-Europe Institute, University of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur in 2009.

The text has been abridged by AALEP.

About Perceptions:

Managed democracy controls society while providing the appearance of democracy. Its main characteristics are as follows:  

1. A strong presidency and weak institutions

2. State control of the media

3. Control over elections allows elites to legitimize their decisions

4. Visible short-term effectiveness and long-term inefficiency  

Projected GDP growth rate for 2012 in the New Member States shows the following leading economies: Romania (4.35%), Slovakia (4.15%), Latvia (4.039%), Lithuania (3.754%), Estonia (3.693%), Poland (3.611%) and Bulgaria (3.5%).

By comparison: Spain (1.613%), France (1.5%), Netherlands (1.5%), Italy (1.304%), Greece (1.079%) and Portugal (negative growth rate of -0.476%).

The roots of Italy's trouble lie in its huge debt and low growth rate. Italy's economy has been growing at only 0.3% and it is projected to grow at a similar feeble rate for the next few years. The Italian debt stands at about 127% of GDP (The fiscal deficit is € 1.84 trillion, the second highest debt in Europe).

The problem for Italy is that it is not going to be able to generate enough resources to pay for its debt. While the Italian Government has passed austerity measures, not enough efforts have been made to stimulate the economy and carry out structural reforms.