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Organized crime is Europe-wide (and no, it’s not just from you know where)

“Mafia and the market” By Sergio Beraldo, courtesy of IREF   Many people share the opinion that Mafia is a typical Italian phenomenon, something about which only Italians should worry. This opinion is wrong. Data recently released by Europol show that thousands of criminal organizations active in Europe can be labelled as of mafia-type, with […]

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Without reform the EU will self-destruct

      “How to Destroy the European Union” By Prince Michael of Liechtenstein, courtesy of ECAEF and GIS     Once, the “European idea” helped unite a war-weary continent. Now, overbearing central authorities, suffocating bureaucracies and reams of red tape are limiting the freedom that idea once promised. Europeans are losing trust in their […]

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How to make the European Green New Deal work

  By Grégory Claeys, Simone Tagliapietra, and Georg Zachmann, courtesy of the Bruegel Institute     European Commission president-designate Ursula von der Leyen has made climate change a top priority, promising to propose a European Green Deal that would make Europe climate neutral by 2050. The European Green Deal should be conceived as a reallocation […]

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Future EU, global trade deals will be harder than Brexiters think

  “Britain has not yet faced its hard choices” By Daniel Wincott, courtesy of UK in a Changing Europe   ‘Global Britain’ is the ultimate goal for many Brexiters. They see new, tailored trade deals around the world as Brexit’s great prize. Fast-growing economies, including India, China and Brazil, feature prominently.   Critics counter that increasing […]

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Election is all about — wait for it — Brexit

  “This is the Brexit General Election” By David Shiels, courtesy of Open Europe   A General Election in the UK has been confirmed for 12 December. The Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019 received Royal Assent yesterday, and the campaign will formally begin after the dissolution of Parliament next week.   Although there is […]

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Can the transatlantic relationship survive the age of Realpolitik?

  By Martin Michelot, courtesy of Europeum   Reports that US Ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, was heard saying that his job “was to destroy the EU” call into question the reality of this desire for a “reset”, but it is clear that Europeans will need to come to the table. Their current level […]

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Post-election U.S.-UK trade deal?

  “UK Election Could Open Door for an Ambitious US-UK Trade Agreement” By Daniel Griswold, courtesy of the Mercatus Center     The British Parliament voted this week to hold a national election on December 12. If the Conservative Party holds on to its lead in the polls, the results could deliver an early Christmas […]

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How should small countries navigate a “tripolar” world?

  “The political dimension of a Swiss-US trade agreement” By Jennifer Anthamatten and Patrick Dümmler, courtesy of Avenir Suisse   In the last two decades, global trade flows have shifted markedly, and the current geopolitical structure is in transition. The time in which there was an undisputed hegemon seems to be ending. Instead, a future […]

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Even after Brexit deal and election, UK will face hard questions

  “Even with a deal, even with an election, these Brexit questions will still need to be answered” By Helen Parr, courtesy of UK In a Changing Europe   Brexit seems deadlocked after the House of Commons voted in favour of Boris Johnson’s withdrawal agreement, but against the timetable to push the legislation through before 31 […]

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Brexit: Now it’s time to wait

  By Anthony Egan, courtesy of Open Europe   Earlier this week, Parliament voted in favour of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill in principle but rejected the Government’s timetable for scrutinising the Bill and final vote. While the Bill has cleared the first hurdle to ratification, which would secure the UK’s negotiated departure from the EU, […]