The originally planned appointment of Fiona Scott Morton as Chief Economist of the Directorate General for Competition (DG COMP) has triggered an intense controversy because of her nationality and the risk of conflicts of interest from her previous functions – antitrust of the Obama administration, consultant for Apple and Microsoft. Polemics aside, it is important […]
At a good 24 percent of final consumption, the EU has almost twice the global average share of renewables today. But recently there has been little progress, looking at wind power: global expansion was 17 percent in 2022 compared to 2021, but only nine percent in the EU. Why is Europe slowing down?With long guaranteed […]
The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) mark the beginning of a new era. These uniform Europe-wide reporting requirements are intended to and will significantly improve production and working conditions through greater transparency: Concrete specifications and better controls should help prevent human rights violations, corruption and greenwashing in the future. On July 31, 2023, the European […]
Will she or won’t she run? As expected, Ursula von der Leyen did not answer the question that interests EU observers most in her State of the Union address. But even if she decides (also as expected) in the course of the next few months to run as the European People’s Party’s top candidate, she […]
The specter of deindustrialization is haunting Germany and Europe. Regardless of whether the fear is justified or exaggerated, the climate and energy policy transformation is now recognizably at a critical point: Investments are flowing abroad and location decisions are increasingly being made against Germany and Europe. Contrary to what politicians like to sell, the industrial […]
The structure of fiscal policy and the stability rules form the long-term foundation of our coexistence. On Nov. 9 and 10, the finance ministers of the EU member states will discuss their reform proposal in the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin). They could make a forward-looking decision. As representatives of the youth organization Fiscal […]
In the past years and decades, we in Europe were used to prosperity and peace. Now both seem to be in danger. The Russian attack on Ukraine and the dramatic developments in the Middle East have presented us with new geopolitical and geo-economic challenges. The global economy has barely recovered from the consequences of the […]
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen did address the issue of food security in her State of the European Union address (SOTEU) this year. However, she did not mention the central role of our diet in the fight against the global climate and biodiversity crisis. The Sustainable Food System Law (SFS) is also absent […]
It’s a well-known case in the EU bubble: Behind the high or even very high technical level of the texts being negotiated, there are significant political challenges. Methane is no exception.Council and Parliament want agreement before COP28But first, the big picture: While methane accounts for only ten percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in Europe, […]
While the trilogue to decide on the final version of the CSDDD is still underway, it should already be clear to most companies that the requirements for their supply chains will increase. This is because the draft for the directive goes significantly beyond the requirements of the National Supply Chain Sourcing Obligations Act (LkSG). The deviations […]