Opinions

Beijing’s influence in the Balkans continues to grow, but we should not compare it with Russia. Chinese influence differs in both motives and tools used for its spreading, writes Matej Šimalčík.

The EU-South Korea summit taking place today (18 October) symbolises the EU's close and multifaceted partnership with South Korea. Yet, Brussels and Seoul should take some practical steps to strengthen their relationship, argue Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Linde Desmaele and Maximilian Ernst.

It’s a statistic we’ve heard time and time again in recent years: while 90% of future jobs will require digital skills, almost half (44%) of Europeans lack even the most basic digital skills, warns Ilona Kish.

While Cohesion Policy remains a cornerstone of EU's action to boost growth and reduce inequalities in the continent, the policy lacks visibility, writes MEP Lambert van Nistelrooij.

The European Union is quietly but determinedly preparing a new rule that is designed to block palm oil exports from Africa and Asia out of the EU market. The EU's actions on palm oil risk trade and investment in Africa, writes Thompson Ayodele.

As another EU summit gets underway, Leïla Bodeux and Davide Gnes wonder what values Europeans are willing to give up in order to stop migration.

The Europe–Asia summit (ASEM) comes at the right time for European and Asian countries to develop a shared narrative and rationalize connectivity projects, write Maaike Okano-Heijmans, Wouter Zweers and Brigitte Dekker.

Nearly one billion people have escaped poverty worldwide since the first #EndPoverty Day, but too many others have been left behind, even in Europe, writes Luca Jahier.

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicates that biofuels will need to rise 260% by 2030 and 750% by 2050 in order to contain global warming below 1.5°C. Yet, the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, published days after, seems to ignore this, writes James Cogan.

There is now a clear EU majority, led by the Nordic countries, for tougher targets on car emissions, writes Sanjeev Kumar. The big questions now relates to charging points for electric vehicles and whether they can charge fast enough, he writes.

The next seven year EU budget must be ambitious enough to support an ambitious new partnership with Africa, argue a group of senior former EU ministers.

On the occasion of International Day of Eradication of Poverty marked on 17^th October, Jana Hainsworth, Secretary General of Eurochild shares how EU economic tools can help tackle child poverty, which affects 25 million children in the EU.

It is a bit surprising to see the Commission chief advocating additional imports in the EU of US LNG, a fossil fuel which produces a lot of greenhouse gas emissions, writes Danila Bochkarev.

Sobering warnings from the UN about the impact of climate change on our planet and human health has one obvious solution: increase the rate of building renovation, in order to massively cut energy use, writes Vijoleta Gordeljevic.

Brexit has become a ‘21^st Century Ulster Question’, writes Dick Roche, who also suggests how it can be solved.

The sudden and substantial increase of migrants’ flow to Europe over the last years has produced a severe political and identity crisis within the EU, a crisis that risks undermining its basic principles and values, and fostering the rise of xenophobic nationalism, writes the Progressive Caucus of the European Parliament.

Vladimir Putin is now 66, the average age of death for a Russian male. He keeps fit so we can expect he will live longer than his fellow Russian men, whose standard of living and health care has not been at the forefront of his near two decades of rule, writes Denis MacShane.

Apart from the UN General Assembly, the biggest gathering of world leaders takes place in Brussels this week, the biannual Asia-Europe meeting, known as ASEM. Representing two-thirds of the world’s population, trade and GDP, Europe and Asia have lots to discuss, writes Fraser Cameron.

A vital first step to making a European success story of 5G and the ‘Internet of Things’ is to help businesses manufacturing connected products understand the wireless technology licensing environment. That is why a group of innovative European companies have published a detailed draft guidance to help inform them.

Poland has some of the worst air quality in the EU. But fighting smog is expensive. The Modernisation Fund set up as part of the Emissions Trading Scheme could help here, writes Joanna Maćkowiak-Pandera.