Innovation & Industry

Protecting journalism is not synonymous with protecting the interests of big press publishers

The review of the EU Copyright Directive must ensure that publishers, regardless of their size, equally benefit from this reform, writes Carlos Astiz.

Updating copyright rules for news: There’s a better way

The EU Copyright directive should avoid making reforms that takes away publishers’ choices about how to distribute and make money with their content online, writes Richard Gingras.

Reclaiming EU research and innovation as a public good

EU-funded research and innovation has enormous potential to deliver a sustainable and equitable future, yet we have fundamentally distorted its purpose, prioritising innovation for commercialisation over innovation for society’s needs.

More holistic approach needed for alternative methods in advancing safety assessment

At the Annual Conference of the European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing, I was invited to host a panel on pooling resources to promote the use of alternative methods for advancing safety assessment, writes Julie Girling. As we approach the end of 2018, it is important to take stock of developments in this critical field.

Delivering on clean energy research and innovation

Assembling together countries, industry and research institutes, the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan has been bringing together public and private investments to make the clean energy vision a reality on the ground. Launched in 2007, the SET Plan now stands at an important junction, writes Miguel Arias Cañete.

Member states must stop building barriers for posted workers

Doing business across EU borders should be frictionless. But in reality, European companies still face excessive bureaucracy when posting workers to another EU country, writes Thilo Brodtmann.

From transport to street lighting: The emergence of smart city platforms

Uber and Airbnb have shown how city services can be transformed by platform offerings. Developing the right platforms will be key for cities to ensure that their economies, environment, and services are fit for the future, writes Eric Woods.

EU should enforce market surveillance to protect single market

The EU needs to take market surveillance more seriously. This is not only about spending more money, but also about creating more coherent and less complex single market legislation, writes Naemi Denz.

Lobby register reform must deliver strong data checks and enforcement

If an organisation breaks EU lobby rules, it should not be able to continue accessing policy-makers in Brussels. That requires a comprehensive “no registration, no meeting” rule, which the Parliament and Council seem unwilling to adopt, and until they do so, the Commission will not extend it internally, writes Margarida Silva.

Citizens and sustainable development are big losers in EU’s next research programme

The Commission has unveiled its proposal for Horizon Europe 2020 and this comes at a critical time for the EU. But there needs to be close monitoring of the research agenda set, as current proposals could have dire consequences for democracy and sustainable development, writes Jill McArdle

The EU is right to refuse legal personality for Artificial Intelligence

The European Commission’s recent outline of an artificial intelligence strategy does not give in to European Parliament calls to grant personhood for AI. The Commission is right in this, though not for the reasons mentioned in a recent open letter published by experts, writes Thomas Burri.

Clean energy innovation: How Europe can make a real difference

Public-private partnerships are vital to achieving the leap forward, deploying new clean technologies at scale and fast, writes Maroš Šefčovič.

Why we need to stabilise the Western Balkans

As Europe is confronted by different visions about its future, the question remains how these different visions will affect the developments in the Western Balkans. The Balkans remain fragile, and the external pressures and internal divisions could deliver fresh instability in the region.

Strengthening workers’ voice, legal certainty for future Social Europe

A vital social democracy will play a decisive role in shaping the future of the European Union. The goal of a united Europe, contractually agreed by all EU member states, is to promote participatory democracy, writes Norbert Kluge.

Schools of tomorrow – building and transforming skills for a digital world

Europe’s bid to lead the digital and advanced technology trend will be lost if the EU and national governments don’t take steps to make skills development in digitisation their priority. Digital skills need to be conveyed at all levels and in all forms of education to ensure Europe’s global position, writes Martina Dlabajová.

Plastic-to-fuel, only fuelling fantasy

In light of the challenges that countries are facing due to China’s new standards on plastic recyclables imports, some controversial disposal methods have been getting increased attention, despite the myriad of concerns surrounding them, write Claire Arkin and Janek Vahk.

Five years from Rana Plaza: EU Commission needs to fulfill its promises

It is high time the European Commission stops dragging its feet and present a legislative proposal to ensure the corporate respect for human rights and to establish binding human rights for European companies, writes Heidi Hautala.

AI and robots should not be attributed legal personhood

Technology has revolutionised the financial industry, but we’re long overdue a revolution in the way we think about its future role and the policies that should govern it, write Daniel Schlaepfer and Hugo Kruyne.