MEPs shy away from Indian Ocean trip

Pity poor Hill & Knowlton. The ubiquitous communications agency acts for the Maldives government, which is not exactly popular with MEPs just now. The European Parliament has called for the EU to halt non-essential aid to the Maldives because of human rights abuses. To counter the negative vibes from the report of a cross-party delegation of MEPs, including Emma Bonino and Geoffrey Van Orden, the Maldives has invited MEPs to visit the islands (again) to “assess the ground reality”.