Opinions
Promoted content
Circular and Green: Rethinking the Built Environment in Europe
As the European Commission turns its attention to sustainable construction, we need to think about the future of our built environment. Renovation and a Circular Economy can take the EU towards climate-friendly, grown-up buildings and building materials.
Why Europe must reskill workers to reach its climate goals
The large-scale social and economic shifts caused by the clean energy transition should be managed with care, write Magnus Tyreman and Hauke Engel. A broad training effort would enable Europe to create a labour force that will thrive during the pursuit of the net-zero emissions target, they argue.Special ReportPromoted content
End of life Recycling of WEEE Plastics containing Brominated Flame Retardants
Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are used in plastics materials in electrical and electronic products to aid fire safety by reducing their propensity for ignition. This not only means a contribution to saving lives, but also products and property, thus preventing...
The Brief, powered by APPLiA – Waiting for the white smoke
Waiting for a Brexit deal is like waiting for Godot but with added ennui. Now we are just waiting for white smoke. Around 95% of the legal text has been in place for some time. So, too, has the shape...Stakeholder Opinion
Belarus sanctions should stay clear of innocent bystanders
As the EU finalises sanctions lists against Belarus, they must be careful to avoid unintended consequences. John Coyle argues that mistargeted sanctions based on incomplete information could risk alienating the very people that the EU should be aiming to support.
COVID-19 is putting Italy’s populists to bed
In political terms, the biggest casualty of COVID-19 in Italy are the country’s populists. Being anti-vax and anti-EU no longer works when the country needs both to exit the crisis. They will change their rhetoric – but lose their punch in the process, writes Elettra Ardissino.Stakeholder Opinion
Increased household collection of used cooking oil means better climate protection
In line with the EU Green deal agenda, with the Federal Climate Protection Act Germany has set itself the ambitious goal of linearly reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transport to 95 million tons of CO2-eq by 2030, writes Hubert Zenk....
How European sovereignty can survive Joe Biden
Europeans need to use the fillip to transatlantic relations brought by Joe Biden's election win to become the kind of capable partner Biden’s America will want and need, writes Jeremy Shapiro.Promoted content
PGE: Poland wants to catch the wind of Baltic Sea
PGE Capital Group wants to be the leader of offshore energy in Poland. Plans to deploy up to 6.5 GW of offshore wind farms capacity in the Baltic Sea are divided into two stages. By 2030, PGE will commission two...
Can Europe and America rebuild a rules-based world order?
The first major test to revive liberal internationalism is likely to be the UN climate change summit in Glasgow next autumn, which should adopt an agreement with teeth, with enforceable rules and penalties for non-compliance, writes David Clark.Promoted content
A Green Recovery for Aviation
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the European aviation sector particularly hard. Almost 90% of Europe’s flights were grounded from March to May, and today that figure stands at 62%. The entire aviation sector will continue to face significant challenges in...
EU-Turkey: A showdown in Brussels
The question of whether to impose sanctions against Turkey will test how far EU leaders are prepared to support President Erdogan's “repressive form of rule”. writes Robert Ellis.
The Commission needs to outline a truly transformative vision for transport
The European Commission will unveil on 9 December its strategy on Smart and Sustainable Mobility. Green MEP Ciarán Cuffe explains what he expects to see in the plan.
The EU and the rule of law paradox
What has emerged in the last few years in the EU is a political rule of law. This rule of law-political is an instrument of political pressure that should not be confused with the real thing, writes György Schöpflin.Promoted content
Sustainable transport: EU needs advanced biofuels to deliver on Green Deal
The European Union has set itself ambitious goals to become carbon neutral by 2050 and hence will raise its 2030 climate target. One solution to contribute to the goal is on hand: advanced biofuels. Now the EU must ensure that all political measures are implemented to guarantee that biofuels can make their important contribution.
The Brief, powered by APPLiA – When a bailout fund needs a backstop
Hurriedly set up a decade ago as a special purpose vehicle domiciled in Luxembourg, the European Stability Mechanism looks and sounds like a relic of crises past. After being at the centre of attention for the bailouts of five eurozone...Promoted content
A recipe for success: three crucial ingredients for the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy
Following the publication of the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy six months ago, policymakers acknowledge that the future of food is dependent – now more than ever – on innovative solutions that challenge the industry status quo. While the Strategy...
The EU budget: A question of European solidarity
Europe stands at a crossroads in the fight against COVID-19. As on many occasions in the past, the leaders of the EU must choose a direction of travel. Will we move together to confront the virus while upholding the basic ideals which hold us together? Or will we choose to retreat, to retrench, into national siloes? Ludovic Orban explains what is at stake.Promoted content
Reducing heart failure hospitalisations starts by learning from COVID-19
Heart failure poses a significant challenge in Europe, affecting nearly 15 million people in the region. As we move into 2021, it’s important that we take learnings from the COVID-19 crisis on board, including the relatively simple measures we can take to avoid hospitalisations and death.
The Brief, powered by APPLiA – Imagine Turkey without Erdogan
At the 10-11 December EU summit, the main foreign policy intrigue is whether the member states will adopt sanctions against Recep Erdoğan’s Turkey. But Germany and France are divided.Promoted content
Microbial Control in COVID-19 times – a few takeaways
The COVID-19 outbreak has given us the opportunity to rethink how we protect ourselves from invisible but very real germs. When the pandemic struck, company members of the Microbial Control Executive Council (MCEC), an initiative of the world’s leading producers of microbial control technology and solutions, took their responsibility and acted to meet the demand for critical supplies.Promoted content
Cancer societies assess threats to patient access to medicines and to the pharmaceutical system’s financial sustainability
The Commission published the new Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe, but more needs to be done to reverse the trend of ever-increasing prices of cancer medicines.Promoted content
The inclusion of personal light electric vehicles in road traffic
This document proposes a range of safety improvements for enabling PLEVs. CITA believes that these vehicles shouldn't be treated as toys and should be regulated accordingly. Safety can only be achieved effectively by providing a recommendation for a harmonized approval framework within the EU.