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3 July 2007

International Trade Expert Joins GPlus

EU communications firm GPlus Europe today announces that Roderick Abbott, former Deputy

Director-General at the WTO, has joined its team as an Associate. Roderick brings with him a wealth of international and EU trade expertise. In an illustrious career as a high-rankingofficial, Roderick was also Deputy Director-General with the European Commission’s DG Trade.

Commenting on Roderick’s appointment, Peter Guilford, senior partner at GPlus, said“Roderick has spent the past 40 years working at the coal face of international trade. His knowledge of European and global trade issues is phenomenal. Roderick will be a tremendous asset to GPlus and allow us to entrench our position as first-rate trade advisors”.

During his 30-year stint with the European Commission, Roderick played an active part in both the Tokyo and Uruguay Rounds of trade negotiations and served as the EU Ambassador in Geneva. When he left the Commission in 2002, he was appointed Deputy Director General of the WTO. Earlier in his career Roderick was a British Government official at the Board of Trade (later DTI).

Commenting on his new appointment, Roderick said: “This is an exciting new chapter in my career. I have spent years working on the inside; now hopefully I can help those on the outside better understand how the processes and politics of international trade rules work”.

GPlus has also announced the recruitment of three new Account Executives. Adrian Georgiev, a Bulgarian national, joins GPlus from MEDEF, the French Business Confederation’s Delegation to the EU. Simonas Vileikis, from Lithuania, brings three years’ experience from Ramboll Management Brussels and Christina Meinshausen, from Germany, has spent the past two years as a political advisor to LibDem MEP Bill Newton Dunn.

GPlus Europe offers EU political and policy analysis, tailor-made communication strategies and media relations. Its client list includes blue-chip companies, associations, governments and institutions from Europe, America and Asia.

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