While guidance on the accountability and responsibility of ministerial staff is somewhat limited, there are detailed standards of ethical conduct for ministerial staff with respect to conflict of interest and lobbying.

Stakeholders perceptions of company behaviour are now the lead driver of enterprise value. Studies show that companies with high reputation are worth as much as 150% more than those with low reputations. A company’s constellation of stakeholder and influence relationship is its reputation ecosystem. Reputational risk is the risk arising from negative perception on the part of customers, counterparties, shareholders, investors or regulators that can adversely affect a company's ability to maintain existing, or establish new, business relationships and continued access to sources of funding.

A critical first step in reputation management, is the building and cultivation of relationships with key constituencies. Public policy advocates need to develop strong individual relationships and cultivates them in a planned, concerted way on an ongoing basis. Building and maintaining relationships, as is true of reputation, should be viewed as a full-time effort.

According to the Dictionnaire alphabétique et analogique de la langue française (Le Robert), ethics and deontology refer in fact to rather different realities: While ethics is defined as the “science de la morale [the science of morality]” or the “art de diriger la conduite [the art of governing conduct]”, deontology is defined as the “théorie des devoirs, en morale [the theory of duty, in morality]”.

Regulating the conduct of parliamentarians will always be an ongoing process of attempting to balance the free flow of information with the integrity of elected representatives. No rule book can ever settle all the possible cases in advance. While lobbyists need to reject cronyism, back-door influence and the exchange of political favours, a parallel opportunity exists for parliamentarians today.

There is no obligation for MPs to declare their personal assets.

Training

• There is a training/initiation process on parliamentary practices and procedures for MPs
• It is provided by political parties and the Professional Services of the House
• Handbook of parliamentary procedures: Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives

Participation in the work of the Parliament

Controlling corruption requires political morality to inspire society and influence government organizations to pursue integrity and accountability. Citizens expect public servants to manage public resources properly and make decisions based on social equity. Fair and reliable public services inspire public trust and create a favorable environment for businesses, thus contributing to the markets and economic growth. Principles for managing ethics in public service include:

Voters’ satisfaction and trust in political administrations has declined substantially due to politicians’ irresponsiveness, misconduct, and lack of accountability. Voters increasingly feel that their role and power to influence the political decision-making process has been diminished and, as a result, they have lost confidence in governments. Furthermore, voters have come to believe that politicians are more motivated by personal power than civic impact.

We would like to wish all our members, friends and visitors a prosperous New Year!

Efficient use of resources, good quality training in Public Policy Advocacy and high awareness of our members' needs are all paramount to improving our services and increasing our members' satisfaction in 2014.

We thank you for your support and together let's make 2014 a very successful year of happiness, peace and success!

There is an increasing consensus in France, that the French economy is in the doldrums. While president Hollande keeps reaffirming that things are going to get better, few people in France believe him; even positive figures are greeted with a certain scepticism.

Here below are some interesting facts: