Challenge

Alber & Geiger assisted West Pharmaceutical, a US corporation and world market leader in medical devices, paving the way for PFAS ban exemptions for their products. The intention was to prevent disruptions in the supply of certain medical devices, where the medicinal products are inseparably connected with the devices, like it is the case with the diabetes pen or with vaccines prefilled in containers and syringes.

Strategy

Our team engaged in a multifaceted approach to safeguard the interests of the medicinal and medical devices. We provided strategic input during the consultation period with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), highlighting the unique needs and safety considerations of specific medical devices. This was followed by an extensive outreach to stakeholders within the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the EU member states. Our efforts focused on educating decision-makers about the indispensable role of PFAS in medicinal products and medical devices and the potential supply chain risks posed by a PFAS ban.

Results

Our advocacy efforts led to a pivotal development in the regulatory landscape on medical devices. Our targeted approach opened the door to potential derogations of several years for specific medical applications where there is substantial evidence that viable alternatives to PFAS do not exist. This ensures that essential medical devices remain available and effective, safeguarding patient care and industry stability.

Challenge

We were hired by the Council for a Democratic Iran (CDI) to raise political awareness and build support for the CDI before the EU. The hurdle here was to promote the very specific foreign policy position of the CDI, with the Member States governments, with conflicting positions on Iran. The subtle CDI policy locus fell in between confrontation and accommodation. This had to be done in a universal, politically neutral manner.

Strategy

The strategy relied on a data collection and dissemination process based on our distinct EU lobbying infrastructure. We gathered a detailed pool of information from a holistic range of institutional, local, NGO and inter-governmental sources.

Subsequently our team translated the data to be compatible with the policy structures of the EU institutions. We tailored the message to different audience catchments of Member States. Overall the strategy outlined an accurate overview of the scale of repression and human rights violations in Iran. Concurrently it promoted positive transnational tools to tangibly shape policy accordingly.

Results

CDI’s message was successfully transplanted into the divergent attitudes of the EU Member States and EU institutions. We helped CDI contribute to greater coherence in the perception of Iranian politics and policies. Ultimately we prevented the subtleties of diplomacy from concealing the human rights violations in Iran. This created a context for more constructive and bold communications from media outlets and government officials with respect to the repressive actions.

Challenge

Global Hospitality Investments (GHI) was a large US real estate private equity investor. It acquired two properties with a loan from the former Hypo Real Estate Group (HRE). Following, the HRE’s portfolio was transferred to FMS Wertmanagement (FMS), the Federal government’s winding up institution for the HRE.

GHI offered to buy back the loan from FMS to save the property investments and proceed with the development plans. FMS was not willing to deal with GHI, which made any solution almost impossible. GHI sought Alber & Geiger’s help with the ensuing impasse to find a deal.

Strategy

We crafted a clear and concise message for the German government and the Bundestag that highlighted the bureaucratic approach of FMS regarding the offer put forward by GHI. The behaviour of FMS did not respect good governance principles and ignored the purpose upon which it was created, namely to “unwind the portfolio whenever it is financially advantageous and thus to achieve the best possible outcome in the interest of the German taxpayer.” The strategy demonstrated to the German Finance Ministry and the Bundestag that the circumstances demanded an equitable treatment of GHI. It drew on an understanding of the financial the political mindset in Germany that was used to strengthen the GHI proposal.

Results

Alber & Geiger helped GHI prepare the offer and guided the it through the entire process while ensuring the political backing of the German Finance Ministry and the Bundestag for a deal with FMS Wertmanagement. The transaction was finally successfully completed.