Financial Times: A diplomatic antidote to Dutch helm disease
By Martin Dickson
May 22, 2004
A little quiet diplomacy can do a lot of good. As we report today, big British and Dutch investors seem to be moving close to a common front on the changes needed in the way Royal Dutch/Shell is governed.
This is very good news, for in the wake of its oil reserving scandal the Anglo-Dutch group has seemed reluctant to embrace the kind of shake-up that is so clearly required. This particularly appeared to be the case at Royal Dutch, with non-executive directors at Shell Transport, the British side, evidently more willing to embrace change.