<\/p>\n
\n
Belgium: Brussels<\/h3>\n
On the institutional side Brexit will rebate the cards in the European Council and the balance of powers will be shaken. With the United Kingdom leaving, partisans of the liberal stream lose their most valuable ally. The \u201cLiberal Block\u201d in the Council, including the United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Netherlands or Sweden a traditional British ally, will fall from 25% to 15 % of the total population of the EU. Convergence between France and Germany is the even more crucial to relaunch the European project.The European Union is at a cornerstone. In the long-run, Brexit may lead to other countries holding referendums, a far looser union, and possibly even the disintegration of a grouping set up 60 years ago to bring security and prosperity after World War II. But Brexit is also for the EU an opportunity to move forward, \u00a0it must be the occasion for European Leaders to give a sense of purpose about shared objectives, and to reshape the Union.”<\/em><\/p>\n St\u00e9phane Desselas<\/a>, Pr\u00e9sident Athenora Consulting<\/a><\/p>\n All sensible people in the UK are in absolute shock at the result.\u00a0 I am, for the first time in my life, ashamed to be British.\u00a0 The economic turmoil we have brought on ourselves is spectacular.\u00a0 By our actions we have undoubtedly holed the Union below the water line and in doing so made ourselves and all our neighbours vulnerable for our long term security. \u00a0We will rightly become the pariahs in Europe and fools in the eyes of the world.\u00a0 We voted on the basis that the money we \u2018wasted\u2019 weekly in our contributions to the European Union would mean we could build a new hospital every seven days \u2013 I will eat my left arm if that happens.\u00a0 \u00a0The worst spirit of being a \u2018little Englander\u2019 has crawled out from the grave where it belonged. We have imperilled the future for the younger generation who were massively in favour of remaining.\u00a0 It is a very sad morning for so many of us.”<\/em><\/p>\n PS: … but I am sure it\u2019s good for fruit<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>\n Sara Pearson<\/a>, CEO, Spider PR<\/a>, London<\/p>\n Sandy Lish<\/a>, The Castle Group, Boston, Massachusetts<\/p>\n Uwe Schmidt<\/a>, Industrie-Contact<\/a>, Hamburg, Germany<\/p>\n Henryk Deter, cometis AG<\/a>, Wiesbaden, Germany<\/p>\n C.L. Conroy<\/a>, The Conroy Martinez Group<\/a>, Miami, Florida<\/p>\n Anne Green<\/a>, President\/CEO, CooperKatz & Company<\/a>, New York, NY<\/p>\n Mark Paterson<\/a>, Currie Communications<\/a>, Melbourne, Australia<\/p>\n Sheena Campbell-Royle<\/a>, SCR, Barcelona, Madrid\/Spain<\/p>\n Dominique Biquard de Parenti\u2028<\/a>, Socia, Identia PR<\/a>,\u2028Buenos Aires, Argentina<\/p>\n Mariusz Pleban<\/a>, Multi Communication<\/a>, Warsaw, Poland<\/p>\n It will be interesting to observe how the UK and Switzerland may develop even stronger economic ties and learn from each other\u2019s experiences and expertise. Both countries are islands surrounded by mountains or seas, and both are determine to retain their own currencies. However the quality of chocolate does differ between the two countries.”<\/em><\/p>\n Nick Miles<\/a>, Cabinet Priv\u00e9 de Conseils<\/a>, Geneva, Switzerland<\/p>\n On a broader level, I am in awe of what just occurred in Britain: Every single citizen had the chance to voice his or her opinion on this issue. Every. Single. Citizen. The United States Constitution does not provide for federal referenda. A constitutional amendment would be required before every, single citizen in our country could vote, on a single issue, in a referendum. Can you imagine what a national referendum on gun control would look like in the U.S.?”<\/em><\/p>\n Anne A. Buchanan<\/a>, APR, Buchanan Public Relations<\/a>, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania<\/p>\n Sean Dowdall<\/a>, General Manager and Chief Marketing Officer\u2028, Landis Communications Inc.<\/a> (LCI), San Francisco, California<\/p>\n Vladimir Salda\u00f1a<\/a>, Associate, Guerra Castellanos & Asociados, Mexico City<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBrexit\u201d on Wikipedia: United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union<\/a><\/p>\n Google News: Brexit<\/a><\/p>\n Twitter: #brexit<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Clients across six continents depend on the combined resources of the Public Relations Global Network (PRGN) to deliver targeted public relations campaigns in markets around the world.\u00a0With revenues of more than $110 million (U.S.D.), PRGN is one of the world\u2019s largest international public relations networks.\u00a0PRGN harnesses the resources of approx. 50 independent public relations firms and more than 900 communications professionals to connect international companies and organizations with individual and culturally diverse markets globally.\u00a0Visit PRGN online at prgn.com<\/a> or on twitter @PRGN<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On Thursday Britain voted to leave the European Union (EU), striking a blow against the bloc and spreading panic through world markets as sterling collapsed to a 31-year low. Investors scrambled to sell the pound, oil and stocks as Britain took a lurch into the unknown, becoming the first country to quit in the EU’s 60-year history, a culmination of decades of suspicion over European aims of creating an ever-closer political union.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1271],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1817],"class_list":["post-2473116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-presidents-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Flag](\"https:\/\/prgn.cullencommunications.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Flag-Belgium.png\")
<\/a>“The challenge for the European Union is now to avoid any \u201cdomino effect\u201d. French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has urged all EU states to follow Britain\u2019s example( to vote) and eurosceptic in the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden have made similar calls for referendums. The loss of one of its biggest members will at the very least force major changes on an embattled bloc already struggling to deal with growing populism, a migration crisis and economic woes. The negotiated terms of the Great Britain\u2019s exit will heavily influence the attitude of other Member State which might be tempted to follow the British path: though exit conditions might discourage them, but it might alter the relation with the United Kingdom for a very long time.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nBritain: London<\/h3>\n
![\"Flag](\"https:\/\/prgn.cullencommunications.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Flag-the-United-Kingdom.png\")
<\/a>“A bleak day for Europe, an even bleaker day for global humanity, economic stability and the power of unity. And a very sad day that it is my country that has caused such anguish.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nUSA: Boston<\/h3>\n
![\"Flag](\"https:\/\/prgn.cullencommunications.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Flag-Massachusetts.png\")
<\/a>“In our own country, we see so much divisiveness among political parties most acutely in this election year. In the wider world, there is so much discord and mistrust. This is one very stark example of how far we are from the concept of a global village.”<\/em><\/p>\n
\nGermany: Hamburg<\/h3>\n
![\"Flag](\"https:\/\/prgn.cullencommunications.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Flag-Germany.png\")
<\/a>“It is a very wrong decision that might play now a bad role model for other countries. I\u2019m really concerned that all those populists and nationalists in other European countries want their referendum as well. Probably the blackest European day for decades \u2026 maybe even blacker ones will follow.”<\/em><\/p>\n
\nGermany: Wiesbaden<\/h3>\n
<\/a>“That is democracy \u2013 if you ask the people you will get an answer. Even if we do not like this answer at all, we have to respect that more than half of the people in Great Britain obviously do not agree with the EU as it is. Hopefully it can also be a chance for the EU and for Europe to change for the better.”<\/em><\/p>\n
\nUSA: Florida<\/h3>\n
![\"Flag](\"https:\/\/prgn.cullencommunications.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Flag-Florida.png\")
<\/a>“It is bewildering how the people vote sometimes, the UK being the latest example. What ramifications this will truly mean has yet to unfold. No doubt, this is when a British stiff upper lip applies.”<\/em><\/p>\n
\nUSA: New York<\/h3>\n
![\"Flag](\"https:\/\/prgn.cullencommunications.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Flag-New-York.png\")
<\/a>“This is a very unfortunate win for the rising instincts toward fearful nationalistic isolationism we see in so many parts of the world today. So-called “leaving” or building walls or whatever form this takes does not divorce any nation or people from global accountability. Sadly this feels more like the early portions of the 20th century than the 21st.”<\/em><\/p>\n
\nAustralia: Melbourne<\/h3>\n
![\"Flag](\"https:\/\/prgn.cullencommunications.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Flag-Australia.png\")
<\/a>“This manifestation of populist Trumpism in Britain makes Europe a more volatile and riskier place to do business and invest money. As a result our clients will look even more closely at opportunities in other parts of the world, especially the US, North Asia and south-east Asia.”<\/p>\n
\nSpain: Barcelona\/Madrid<\/h3>\n
![\"Flag](\"https:\/\/prgn.cullencommunications.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Flag-Spain.png\")
<\/a>“A black and bleak day indeed for all Europeans including the Brits. However, I agree with Deter, maybe we need this for the Union to go forward. The horrendous bureaucratic cost of the un-voted European parliament does not speak of democracy (Britain is one of the world\u2019s oldest democracies) together with the total breakdown of the National Health Service in the UK have helped to get where we are now. I would like to think that all this is part of becoming global … we are having teething problems, but it doesn\u2019t mean we won\u2019t be able to sort it out further ahead.”<\/em><\/p>\n
\nArgentina: Buenos Aires<\/h3>\n
![\"Flag](\"https:\/\/prgn.cullencommunications.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Flag-Argentina.png\")
<\/a>“The vote reflects people\u00b4s general distrusts and unhappiness with politics, and not only in UK. They want solutions for their everyday\u00b4s problems, and want them fast. They don\u00b4t want to hear about bureaucracy, organisms or supranational mechanisms. \u00b4My taxes should go to fixing my sidewalk\u00b4, they are saying. \u00b4What happens at 3000 km \u00a0is not my problem, we won\u00b4t be able to fix it. Enough of spending in politics and politicians’. Politicians and the whole system should take note.”<\/p>\n
\nPoland: Warsaw<\/h3>\n
![\"Flag](\"https:\/\/prgn.cullencommunications.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Flag-Poland.png\")
<\/a>“People are egoistic by definition. The reptile part of human brains needs to feel safe. The only problem is that it does not plan ahead. The “good” may soon become “unsafe”. How the English brain reacts if Scottish, Welsh or Norhern Irland brains decide to vote to leave… UK. Will it result with peaceful talks and friendly divorce-parties? What happens if goods and services become more expensive. It is easy to complain about food when a belly is full. Once it gets emptier, mind may look for different rationalisation. Next four years, before the next UK elections, will be harder for Brits then Brexit.\u00a0 Europe and all world are in shock. Many comments name English nation with dark adjectives. But nearly 49% of the UK does think differently and does not match the negative opinions. I would not like to walk their shoes. This morning it was a walk of shame.”<\/p>\n
\nSwitzerland: Geneva<\/h3>\n
![\"Flag](\"https:\/\/prgn.cullencommunications.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Flag-Switzerland.png\")
<\/a>“For Switzerland (not an EU member), there will be an immediate impact on how it is able to continue its bilateral discussions with EU member states, and its own particular issue of \u201cfreedom of movement\u201d may move down the list of EU priorities.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nUSA: Philadelphia<\/h3>\n
![\"Flag](\"https:\/\/prgn.cullencommunications.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Flag-Pennsylvania.png\")
<\/a>“Like Donald Trump, the Brexiteers have endorsed a \u201cgo-it-alone\u201d approach to dealing with global challenges. This outcome distresses all of us who believe that cooperation and unity should prevail over isolationism and xenophobia. Today, the world became less flat.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nUSA: San Francisco<\/h3>\n
![\"Flag](\"https:\/\/prgn.cullencommunications.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Flag-California.png\")
<\/a>“The \u00a0Brexit vote presents yet another example of what is perhaps politics\u2019 greatest irony.\u00a0 Many people vote in a way that is exactly opposite from their best self-interest. Polling data indicates majorities of economically-disadvantaged \u00a0and lesser-educated groups favored the exit. Is it that people who may be the most harmed by the way they vote do so based on fear and frustration (looking back) rather than using rationale decision-making and seeing opportunity (looking forward)?\u00a0 That\u2019s exactly what we are seeing from so many Trump supporters here in the United States.\u00a0 They seek to turn the calendar back to a time in the past that never existed for themselves or anybody else.”<\/em><\/p>\n
\nMexico: Mexico City<\/h3>\n
![\"Flag](\"https:\/\/prgn.cullencommunications.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Flag-Mexico.png\")
<\/a>“That is democracy! And also a clear sign of how populist and simplistic arguments are finding strong\u00a0 ways among desperate, angry and distrustful citizens (older this time but also young as in my country). Also a communications lesson as I see more and more challenges on getting across appealing messages from government \/ experts to common citizens and in this case, how the technical economic argument had a huge loss to the \u201cpolitical and social causes\u201d. Interesting and challenging times.”<\/em><\/p>\n
\nMore information<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nAbout Public Relations Global Network<\/strong><\/h3>\n