By Dr. Alexander Görlach, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs The UK’s impending departure from the European Union on January 31 creates at least one certainty. Following the Tories’ resounding victory in the December parliamentary elections, any further talk of a second referendum is empty rhetoric; the idea was rejected […]
Tag: eu
Anti-EU sentiment simmering in Central Europe
“Czechs and the EU Brand: How do Czechs feel about the EU and what could change their mind?” By Vit Havelka, courtesy of EUROPEUM This study is mainly based on a series of 12 brief surveys by Behavio research agency and on longitudinal research by STEM Institute for Empirical Research. The expert’s inputs […]
Franco-German relationship needs a reboot
“Rebooting Franco-German cooperation” By Sophie Pornschlegel, courtesy of EPC The alliance between France and Germany has significantly deteriorated in 2019, with little to no hope for improvement in 2020. They have no one to blame but themselves: Germany has shown a lack of ambition and vision in European policy, while Macron made tactical errors with […]
The Sake-Scotch Pact: New EU-Japan alliance forming
“A Surprising New Alliance: Europe and Japan” Courtesy of CEPS Almost surreptitiously, Europe and Japan are discovering they have a great deal in common, joining up to defend free trade, democracy and the rule of law. For decades, low-grade commercial friction and political indifference marked the relationship. Japan’s powerful car industry frightened […]
New finance rules: Too much information?
“MiFID II: Too much consumer protection?” By Benedikt Schmal and Alexander Fink, translation by Anna-Maria Köhnke; Courtesy of IREF The recently updated European Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, commonly abbreviated as MiFID II, is supposed to enhance consumers’ protection. Adjustments of regulatory background questions aside, the EU aims to improve “protection of investors by prohibiting the […]
Brexit is certain — but very little else
“Weekly Briefing: Attention turns to the structure of next phase Brexit talks” By Anthony Egan, courtesy of Open Europe The UK’s departure from the EU on 31 January is now certain. Later today, the House of Commons is expected to approve the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, before it proceeds through the final stages of […]
“Large-scale” VAT fraud costs Europe 30B-60B euros per year
“The EU Runs a Large Trade Surplus with Itself – One Reason Is Apparently Large-Scale VAT Fraud” Courtesy of IfW Kiel The EU runs a trade surplus with itself of EUR 307 billion—a figure that should be zero if all transactions were properly reported and recorded. Measurement errors alone cannot account for this […]
Around half a million German jobs depend on exports to UK
“460,000 jobs in Germany are linked to exports to the United Kingdom” Courtesy of the IAB Around 460,000 jobs in Germany are directly or indirectly linked to exports to the United Kingdom. Around 60,000 of these are employed in the automotive industry. This emerges from a study published on Tuesday by the Institute for Labor […]
No, the WTO isn’t dead, but it is on life support – and it could die this year
“Will the WTO Survive 2020?” By Daniel Gros, courtesy of CEPS The World Trade Organisation (WTO) did not die on December 11, 2019, but an important part is now missing: disputes among WTO member states can no longer be settled by an independent instance recognised by all parties. This was the function of […]
Canada should move swiftly on UK trade deal
“Missing a Post-Brexit Trade Opportunity” Courtesy of Frontier Centre for Public Policy Brexit uncertainty is no more, following the election of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom with the largest Conservative majority since 1987. Johnson’s Withdrawal Agreement will be passed in the House of Commons and the United Kingdom […]