Facebook tries out charm offensive with four EU Commissioners
Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg attempted to woo a team of four EU Commissioners during closed-door meetings Tuesday (23 January) on tense issues like hate speech and online platform transparency.
View ArticleTrump angers European solar installers with solar panel tariff
US President Donald Trump signed into law a steep tariff on imported solar panels on Tuesday, a move billed as a way to protect American jobs but which the solar industry said would lead to thousands...
View ArticleUproar over removal of Panama and seven others from EU tax haven blacklist
European Union finance ministers agreed on Tuesday (23 January) to remove eight jurisdictions, including much-criticised Panama, from the bloc’s blacklist of tax havens, one month after the list was...
View ArticlePeace expert: EU’s soft power is most effecive when it is least used
Despite winning the Nobel Peace Prize five years ago, the EU is no longer "a great actor of peace". It should not rush into creating its own army unless the US decides to pull back its troops, Dan...
View ArticleCommission not using crisis early-warning tool well, EU auditors say
For political reasons, the European Commission is not using effectively a procedure intended to provide early warning of brewing economic crises, the European Court of Auditors said yesterday (23...
View ArticleEnergy Union: The way ahead through governance
The governance of the low-carbon transition would constitute a litmus test to EU’s international credibility and evolving energy policy-making and enforceability framework, writes Yana Popkostova.
View ArticleDavos waiting to hear ‘the EU is back’
As the EU embarks on a difficult year to trace the future course of its existence, the world is growing increasingly anxious at how Brussels and the 27-country bloc will reinvent itself to fully take...
View ArticleItaly centre-right divisions widen as League beats anti-euro drum
The leader of Italy's far-right Northern League on yesterday (23 January) called the euro "a failed experiment" and presented outspoken anti-euro economists among his election candidates, widening...
View ArticlePwC boss: Businesses ‘sceptical’ about Merkel-Macron EU reform push
Europe will be high on the agenda of the World Economic Forum on Wednesday (24 January), as French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel take the stage in Davos. But there is “a...
View ArticleTurkey detains dozens more in ‘terror propaganda’ clampdown
Turkish security forces yesterday (23 January) detained dozens more people nationwide on accusations of spreading propaganda for "terror" groups, in a major clampdown as Ankara presses its new...
View ArticleHealth tech bill to kick off busy policy agenda in 2018
The European Commission will propose a new law on Health Technology Assessments to kick off a busy EU health agenda in 2018.
View ArticleEU’s energy project list denounced by unimpressed MEPs
A proposed list of priority energy projects drawn up by the European Commission is coming under intense scrutiny by MEPs, some of whom accuse the EU executive of focusing too heavily on fossil fuel...
View ArticleWhat lies behind Kurz’s defence of the far-right FPÖ
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz intends for his government to be "measured by its actions", just as Angela Merkel said it should be. Nevertheless, the young leader still has some explaining to do...
View ArticlePoland flinches at renewables target, revives nuclear prospects
Poland will find it almost impossible to meet an ambitious new target for renewable energy use backed last week by European lawmakers, according to Energy Minister Krzysztof Tchorzewski, who still...
View ArticleThe end of European labour agreements?
Barely a dozen sectoral agreements have been finalised ever since social dialogue was established in Europe. The social partners’ contradictory objectives and the progressive disinvestment of the...
View ArticleHow Central Asian energy complements the Southern Gas Corridor
Practical access to Central Asian gas, which would arrive via the twin projects of the White Stream and the Trans-Caspian Pipeline, is finally coming at just the right time to complete the Southern Gas...
View ArticleRestoring trust and effectiveness in EU scientific advice
Today, more than ever, EU regulators must ensure that risk management decisions meet public demands for high standards of protection whilst simultaneously stimulating competitiveness and prosperity in...
View ArticleJuncker cancels trip to Davos due to stomach flu
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker cancelled on Wednesday (24 January) his highly anticipated appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos (Switzerland) due to stomach flu, EU sources...
View ArticleThe Brief – Avoiding unwanted jobs
Team Europe is missing its front man at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Commission boss Jean-Claude Juncker was due to address delegates on Thursday, but was struck down with stomach flu, his chief...
View ArticleItalian, Greek PMs rebuke Europe à la carte on migration
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni told business leaders in Davos on Wednesday (24 January) that migration cannot be solved by countries alone, it needs a concerted...
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