Cinci mii de dolari pe luna pare extrem de putin, aproape neserios de putin. Dar un search pe Google ne arata ca Dutko Worldwide e destul de mare, cu un venit total din lobbying de 21,4 milioane de dolari numai in 2006. Conform Center for Responsive Politics, printre clienti se numara grupuri si companii renumite (precum Abbott Laboratories, Amazon.com, AT&T, FedEx, GlaxoSmithKline, Motorola, Roche, Schering, Sharp Electronics, Target, Wal-Mart), scoli si universitati (Harvard Univ, Montana State Univ, New York Univ, University of California, Univ of Maryland), autoritati de stat si locale (the cities of New Orleans, LA and Fort Lauderdale, FL, Los Angeles County, state of North Dakota, state of Utah), organizatii internationale (United Nations ILO) etc. ---------------------------- Vali "Noble blood is an accident of fortune; noble actions are the chief mark of greatness." (Carlo Goldoni)
"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." (Jimi Hendrix) <http://www.jurnalo.com/jurnalo/storyPage.do?story_id=32407> http://www.jurnalo.com/jurnalo/storyPage.do?story_id=32407 Post-communist EU countries hire lobbyists to get rid of US visas Monday 30 April 2007 11:42 Seven formerly-communist members of European Union hired a lobbying firm to help them push legislation through the US Congress that would waive visas for their citizens, Czech Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Opletalova confirmed Monday. "The issue of visas for our countries is not a priority for US lawmakers," Opletalova said. "The firm should be a prolonged arm of our embassies whose strength would not have been sufficient. " In a tender, first reported Monday by the Hospodarske noviny daily, the countries chose Dutko Worldwide, a lobbying firm whose Prague branch was formerly headed by former Czech ambassador to the US and current Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs, Alexandr Vondra. "That did not play any role," Opletalova said. "What played a role were the contacts the firm has in the US Congress." Each country - the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia and Romania - is to pay 5,000 dollars a month for Dutko services as long as is necessary, Opletalova said. While the Bush administration has supported the Eastern Europan visa-lifting drive, any change lies in the hands of the Democratic Congress. The US House of Representatives is to decide within weeks on an amendment that would most likely allow some Eastern Europeans visa- free travel, but would also toughen the security rules for the 27 countries whose citizens do not need visas to enter the US. The US Senate already passed the amendment. Old EU member states, except for Greece, are among the 27 states included in the so-called visa-waiver programme. Some of them, including Germany, have lobbied against the legislation because of the proposed tougher security measures. Their effort has been seen as a threat by the Czechs, who, alongside with other formerly communist members of the European Union, have been lobbying the Congress to lift the visas. The Czech and US officials have been careful not to describe the effort to waive visas for America's Eastern European allies as a bargain for the deployment of the US missile shield facilities in Central Europe. But their hopeful messages on the issue have frequently appeared in the Czech press and are seen as a part of the US radar debate. Recently, a high-level US Homeland Security Department official told Hospodarske noviny that the administration plans to push visa- free travel for Eastern Europeans through the legislature by the end of the year. dpa kz fs C JURNALO Limited 2007
