Europe - EBR

Edition: International | Greek

FOLLOW EBR MAGAZINE ON:

Home » Europe

Theresa May’s bombshell announcement coincided with the International Monetary Fund’s release of its latest analysis of the UK economy. It underlined the widespread consensus among experts that leaving the EU will in the longer term deal a body blow to British living standards, although it sugared the pill by revising its forecast for this year’s GDP growth upwards to an EU-beating two per cent.

It’s up to the EU to ensure May’s ‘softer Brexit’ ploy pays off

By: EBR | Thursday, April 20, 2017

“It’s about getting the best possible deal” on Brexit – that is British Prime Minister Theresa May’s new mantra to explain the surprise general election she has called for 8 June

A “multi-speed Europe” would allow members to selectively participate in various initiatives, while allowing them to opt out if they choose. In this way, the system could be more effective to cure the division in the eurozone and the challenges new members face.

EU at 60: Common sense will prevail

By: EBR | Wednesday, April 19, 2017

The recent 60th anniversary celebrations in Rome were justifiably optimistic. The European Union may well have negotiated its rough patch and from here on out it could prove to be smooth sailing

“We can invest money in research and in infrastructure, as well as redirecting EU money to support the process of convergence. But how can we avoid what we already seen and make sure we retain human capital in those countries?” asked Fabio Pammolli from the Polytechnic University of Milan.

Recent EU enlargement led to brain drain in new members

By: EBR | Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Instead of increasing cross-border cooperation, the enlargement of the European Union has resulted in an exodus of human capital from the eastern member states to the west of the continent, according to a new study

Both Mélenchon and Le Pen see globalisation as a false dogma and the root cause of France’s economic ills. Mélenchon, a forthright critic of the European constitution that was rejected by French voters in 2005, argues that the European Union has failed to protect workers from the effects of hypercapitalism, and has become a ‘market space’ instead of a social project. If elected, he would renegotiate the treaties before holding a referendum on continued membership. For her part, Le Pen has promised an autumn 2017 referendum on France’s EU membership. Le Pen’s rhetoric relies on her role as perennial outsider: the ‘victim’ of a system that has always manoeuvred to exclude her in the same way it did her father.

The French election is a battle of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ populism

By: EBR | Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Is there ‘good’ and ‘bad’ populism?

Biotechnology is the use of living systems or organisms in the creation of industrial products. The growth of the biotechnology industry is “important for Europe” and created 10,000 new jobs and 93 medicines recommended for market authorisation by the European Medical Agency in 2015, according to the EBE.

Europe’s biotechnology potential hindered by investment fears

By: EBR | Thursday, April 6, 2017

In terms of pure biotechnology, Europe has embraced innovation. However, it cannot compete with the US yet because it cannot drive private investment in the field, as well as open up the market to new products

The coal industry though was sceptical about the utilities’ announcement. Brian Ricketts, the secretary-general of the Euracoal trade group said: “Steam engines were replaced by something better, cheaper and more productive – electric motors and diesel engines. When we see a new energy system – with lots of energy storage – that works at an affordable price, then coal, oil and gas will not be needed. In the meantime, we still rely on conventional sources.”

The end of coal: EU energy companies pledge no new plants from 2020

By: EBR | Thursday, April 6, 2017

Companies from every EU nation except Poland and Greece sign up to initiative in bid to meet Paris pledges and limit effects of climate change

The implications of artificial intelligence (AI) and the robotics revolution are especially unsettling for Europe. Debate about the march of the robots has so far centred on whether or not they will destroy jobs and usher in an era of massive long-term structural unemployment. But we should instead be worrying about an opposite effect.

The tax shortfall of the robots

By: EBR | Wednesday, April 5, 2017

At a recent Friends of Europe roundtable on the 4th Industrial Revolution, Estonian MEP Kaja Kallas put her finger on one of the most alarming threats confronting Europe

The campaign aims at unifying voices among different educational stakeholders, raise awareness, provide policy solutions and asks for recognition by the education systems of the study period spent abroad. The lack of recognition in many European countries often obliged students to attend an additional year of school, once back in their home country.

Why the EU needs Union-wide recognition of study diplomas

By: EBR | Wednesday, April 5, 2017

The EU is about inclusiveness, tolerance and promoting values such as democracy, education and meritocracy

The EU’s internal open borders scheme may also prove to be a case of over-reach. Abolishing borders and border controls between the 26 members of the Schengen system provided a tremendous sense of freedom. But this has not been accompanied by a proper scheme for reinforcing external border controls. So when the system came under pressure in 2015 from one million asylum seekers and economic migrants from Syria and other war-torn or impoverished countries, it crumbled, and it remains partially suspended.

As the UK prepares to leave, is Europe disintegrating after 60 years?

By: EBR | Wednesday, March 29, 2017

The EU will not necessarily disappear, but it badly needs leaders who would avoid empty slogans, which merely repackage the status quo, and instead propose tangible solutions to everyday problems

The scope of the definition affects the range of lobby activities and financial spending declared. If the Commission gets its way and limits the definition of lobbying to only direct interactions with decision-makers, campaigners fear that a vast swathe of activity and expenditure will escape disclosure, while some ‘intermediaries’ such as lobby consultancies who only conduct indirect lobbying services on behalf of clients, could disappear entirely.

Lobby transparency reform: Here we go again

By: EBR | Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Scandals from Dieselgate to tobacco, glyphosate to high finance, have contributed to widespread public cynicism over the power of lobbyists in the EU. Campaigners are facing the upcoming EU lobby transparency negotiations with a mixture of weary resignation and apprehension

However, apart from the Anglo-Saxon attacks and Brexit, the Eurozone receives also intolerable trade pressure from China, which keeps its national currency devalued -with all that this implies through the competitive perspective for the European industry and employment. Unfortunately, while the American deficits are abysmal, the currency war worldwide will be silent, but rather hard for the European economy and the advanced social background. And in this respect, the positions of President Donald Trump as expressed to the Chancellor Angela Merkell, mean a lot. They foreshadow tensions that are difficult to predict how they will be interpreted by the markets.

Europe and its enemies

By: Athanase Papandropoulos | Monday, March 27, 2017

Sixty years after the Treaty of Rome, the Union of the 27 member states has to decide its destination and its goals

The House of Commons has many MPs who are hardline supporters of Brexit and who look forward to shutting Britain borders to stop Poles and other European Union citizens coming freely to live, work, love and settle as free Europeans in a free Britain.

London terror and Poland’s utter disgrace

By: EBR | Monday, March 27, 2017

Poland’s Prime Minister (ab)uses terrorist act to settle political scores and trumpet her government’s message of utter divisiveness

Intelligent specialization should be reflected in the region’s education systems as well as in its legislative frameworks. I sincerely believe that Central and Eastern Europe can empower a better future for the old continent. I believe in the human potential of this region that remains untapped. For me, our countries have a future that is much brighter than being among the top outsourcing destinations. And with joint efforts of policy makers, academics and business leaders, we can draw this future together.

Poland’s unicorn, Slovakia’s flying car, and the future of Europe

By: EBR | Friday, March 24, 2017

The future of Europe is at stake, and the reasons extend far beyond obvious challenges such as the migration crisis and the political turbulence that led to Brexit

The relationship between unemployment and happiness raises a question regarding the usefulness of the so-called universal basic income (UBI). While the UBI is supposed to help the losers from globalisation and technological progress, it may not fully work. If UBI recipients only get income, but not jobs, they may feel socially excluded and dissatisfied.

Does money really make Europeans happy?

By: EBR | Thursday, March 23, 2017

Economists care about economic growth; the man or woman in the street wants to be happy. But to what extent are income and happiness related?

The tight timeframe for the Brexit talks have raised the possibility of a transitional deal to allow the UK and EU to finalise a free trade agreement. Such agreements often take many years to finalise.

EU Brexit boss warns of ‘serious repercussions’ if divorce talks fail

By: EBR | Thursday, March 23, 2017

The European Commission’s chief Brexit negotiator today (22 March) warned of serious repercussions for both Britain and the EU if the divorce talks fail without a deal being agreed

Europe is ageing and shrinking, and it is also falling behind in key wealth-creation areas like technological innovation and productivity. By the middle of this century, Europeans will be little more than four percent of a world population projected by the United Nations to reach possibly 11 billion people. Europe will be so elderly that the ratio of workers to pensioners will have shrunk to two-to-one from today’s four-to-one.

Rome’s reality check: the next 60 years will be an uphill struggle

By: EBR | Wednesday, March 22, 2017

With the European Union’s 60th birthday upon us, it seems appropriate to look ahead to the next 60 years: what will Europe look like in 2077?

In 2015, 1.404.398 people were held in penitentiary institutions across Europe, which is 102.880 inmates fewer than the previous year1. The incarceration rate (Prison Population Rate), which is often used as an indicator of how punitive anti-crime policies are, also fell by 7% from 124 inmates to 115.7 inmates per 100.000 inhabitants2. Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland said: “The drop in the overall number of people in prison in Europe is welcome. Increasing the use of alternative sentences does not necessarily lead to higher crime rates but can help to reintegrate offenders and tackle overcrowding.”

Europe’s prison population falls, but there is still overcrowding

By: EBR | Tuesday, March 21, 2017

The number of people held in European prisons decreased by 6.8% from 2014 to 2015, although prison overcrowding remained a problem in 15 countries, according to the latest Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics (SPACE*)

Kukan, the EPP shadow rapporteur for the Albanian dossier in the parliament, said, ”Time is of the essence here. I also repeatedly called on the opposition to reassume their work in the parliament in order to move on with the reform and make all necessary preparations for the upcoming elections.”

EP urges Albanian opposition to back justice reform to boost country’s EU accession bid

By: EBR | Friday, March 17, 2017

A senior Member of the European Parliament has accused Albania's main opposition party of effectively blocking reforms widely seen as being vital in keeping the country's EU accession ambitions alive

Final polls released late Tuesday appeared to show Rutte pulling away from Wilders, crediting the VVD with coming top with 24 to 28 seats.

Dutch vote in key elections as far-right slips

By: EBR | Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Millions of Dutch voters go to the polls Wednesday (15 March) in key elections overshadowed by a blazing diplomatic row with Turkey, with all eyes on the fate of far-right MP Geert Wilders

Scottish voters backed remaining in the European Union by 62% to 38% in the Brexit referendum last year, against the overall United Kingdom trend. But the survey said scepticism about the EU in Scotland was now at the highest level ever recorded by ScotCen.

Poll: Euroscepticism in Scotland at record level

By: EBR | Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Support for Scottish independence is at its highest ever but it might not be the best time for Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to hold a new referendum, a survey by ScotCen’s Scottish Social Attitudes said on Wednesday (15 March)

Pages: Previous Next

EU Actually

Far-left and far-right gains throw French mainstream parties into a quandary

By: N. Peter Kramer

In many big towns and cities, Socialists and centre-right Republicans are tempted to make electoral pacts on their outside flanks to beat the opposition in next Sunday’s run off of the French mayoral elections.

Europe

Russia’s Imperial Retreat Is Europe’s Strategic Opportunity

The war in Ukraine is costing Russia its leverage overseas. Across the South Caucasus and Middle East, this presents an opportunity for Europe to pick up the pieces and claim its own sphere of influence.

Business

EU risks losing US soy imports under deforestation rules, Washington warns

The regulation would make the bloc less attractive for American exporters, a senior USDA official said