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Cities key to fight against climate change

  “Climate Calling: Inside EU Cities’ and Regions’ Green Race” Courtesy of CASE   As the United Nations (UN) Conference of Parties (COP25) approaches together with the widely announced European Green Deal of the incoming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the end of year is once again dominated by climate-related discussions. What is different from […]

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Better late than never: EU gears up to tackle money laundering

  “A Major Step Toward Combating Money Laundering in Europe” By Nicolas Véron and Joshua Kirschenbaum, courtesy of the Bruegel Institute   The struggle to combat money laundering in Europe took a momentous step forward on November 8 when the finance ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, and Spain put forward a joint position paper. […]

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Strategic threats to Europe are multiplying

  “European Security: Four Priorities for 2020-2024” By Louis Cox-Brusseau, courtesy of Europeum   As 2019 draws to a close, the European Union bids farewell to a year of historic change. With the election of a new Parliament and the formation of a new Commission, the Union looks ahead to the next five years as […]

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Don’t give up on EU enlargement, or reform, Monsieur le Presidént!

“Letter to Macron: Details matter for enlargement reform” By Corina Stratulat and Milena Lazarevic, courtesy of EPC Dear President Macron,You are right! A renewed approach to the European Union (EU)’s enlargement towards the Balkans is necessary to help the countries of the region break with their troubled histories and break through the gates of accession. […]

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There are actually two possible “no deals”

  “What would a ‘No Deal’ after the transition period look like?” By Dominic Walsh, courtesy of Open Europe   How ‘No Deal’ could happen after the transition period   The revised Withdrawal Agreement agreed by Boris Johnson’s Government replaced the UK-wide ‘backstop’ with a new Protocol that applies only to Northern Ireland. Unlike the previous deal, […]

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EU transfers fuel corruption, white collar crime

  “There is a case for reforming the long-term EU budget” Courtesy of Open Europe   On October 21th 2019, Open Europe’s Pieter Cleppe gave evidence to the Committee on EU Affairs of Germany’s Parliament in Berlin, discussing the long term EU budget 2021­-2027, which is currently being negotiated. A briefing provided by Pieter Cleppe detailing how […]

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V4 countries diverge on European defense initiatives, but still have a lot to offer

  “The V4 and the European Defence Initiatives” By Gergely Varga, courtesy of Europeum   With the new EU commission set to take its place sometime in the next few months, Europeans are in a stand-by mode with respect to how the EU will deliver on European defence in light of the ambitious rhetoric surrounding […]

Weekly Update

WEEKLY UPDATE: City air makes men free… so why not make new cities?

    After all, we’ve been doing it for thousands of years   It would be hard to list all the advantages that cities afford us, but the short version goes like this: urban centers concentrate labor, talent, wealth and innovation in a matrix that allows all of them to multiply and advance. Since ancient […]

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“This is a mess”: QE isn’t working – and neither is government

  By Erik Sass, TES Editor-in-Chief   Collectively and individually the countries of Europe face economic problems that they are either unwilling or unable to confront due to a lack of political courage, despite the availability of effective remedies. That was the bleak takeaway from a panel discussion of economic and political experts at the […]

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30 Years After the Fall

  This originally appeared in Investors Business Daily on November 8,  2009, under the title “20 Years After the Fall.” By Dan McGroarty, TES GeoPolicy Editor   Twenty years ago, late on a Thursday evening in Berlin, the cement and concertina-wire symbol of the Cold War was breached, inadvertently opened by a botched answer of a […]