Opinions
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Baltic shadow tankers: Growing threat to environmental safety and regional stability
Est. 5minThe alarming rise of unregulated "shadow" tankers transporting Russian oil through the Baltic Sea—an increase of 30% last year—poses a serious threat to the region's environment and safety. Experts warn that if this trend continues, environmental disasters are not just possible—they are inevitable.
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Extreme weather is worsening Europe’s food supply
Est. 4minLast year was the hottest on record, and scientists worry this year will be worse. Thunderstorms in Europe destroyed 9.1 billion euros in assets, while the U.S. also experienced twenty-eight separate weather and climate disasters throughout 2023 costing at least one billion dollars a piece. Again, the most ever. It’s not hard to see a trend.
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The Brief – How did North Macedonia end up in the deep freeze?
Est. 7minThe EU made the difficult decision on Wednesday (25 September) evening, to de-couple North Macedonia from Albania on their EU path and to start accession negotiations with Tirana, leaving Skopje behind.
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The Urgent Need for Bold Action: Europe’s 2050 Grand Challenges
Est. 7minThe new Grand Challenges for Europe 2050 report by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom highlights urgent issues including climate change, demographic shifts, economic instability, technological dependency, and political fragmentation. It calls for bold leadership and innovative action to secure Europe's future prosperity and resilience by 2050.
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European youth deserves better contraception
Est. 6minDespite the progress we've made in advancing reproductive rights across Europe, young people and women continue to face inequalities in accessing sexual and reproductive services. With many pregnancies in Europe still unintended, this issue needs urgent attention, she warns.
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Toward a consensus on fighting flu: prioritising childhood vaccination
Est. 5minSeasonal influenza has a significant global impact on the health of our communities and our economies. Here, Professor Peter Openshaw, outlines why prioritising childhood vaccination programmes can help mitigate this burden.
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AI regulation in the UK: A lost opportunity?
Est. 5minAs the EU’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act comes into force, early indications suggest that the UK could miss out on a golden opportunity to follow suit, write Steven Farmer, Scott Morton, and Mark Booth.
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Sharing vehicle data: let’s not reinvent the wheel
Est. 4minInstead of reinventing the wheel on automated vehicle data sharing, the EU should build on existing rules while ensuring a coherent legal framework for sharing data generated by vehicles.
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The Brief – CO2 rules for cars: Make or break for the EU’s climate credibility
Est. 7minIf the EU gives in to calls from carmakers to delay its 2025 CO2 emissions limits, because of the poor state of the automotive industry, it will risk setting a precedent that could undermine the heart of its climate policy.
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Fuelling Europe’s future: How venture capital drives innovation and growth
Est. 5minWith billions invested in start-ups that tackle climate change and drive digital advances, Europe's VC industry is not just keeping pace—it's powering the EU's ambitions and setting the stage for a brighter future.
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Six principles for the new European Commission to follow
Est. 5minEU needs a “visible hand” to achieve climate neutrality by turning knowledge into jobs
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China’s electric vehicles: Is the US overreacting, or the EU underreacting?
Est. 4minThe EU is increasingly caught in the middle between the US and China’s trade wars, and needs to pick a side
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Digital technologies can propel Europe through its sustainable industrial transformation
Est. 5minFor 177 years, Siemens has been creating technologies to transform the everyday, for everyone. Inspired by this mission, Siemens is passionately committed to being a vital force that can turn the challenges Europe is facing into opportunities – by leveraging and accelerating the green and digital transition to foster EU competitiveness.
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The Brief – The National Rally prepares the government for the guillotine
Est. 7minFrench Prime Minister Michel Barnier succeeded in forming a government after long negotiations, but its days are already numbered as all French political parties are preparing for new elections.
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Draghi Report: A wake-up call for the EU electronics manufacturing industry
Est. 5minDespite the European Chips Act, the European electronics sector still faces a sharp decline, potentially undermining Europe’s security, industrial resiliency, and global competitiveness.
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Tackling gaps in psoriasis care: An imperative for the EU
Est. 6minAccess to adequate care for psoriasis is inconsistent across Europe and the condition remains misunderstood and undertreated. Only through political will and a shared commitment can we close gaps in psoriasis care.
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The Brief – Why peace in Ukraine is so difficult to achieve
Est. 6minUkraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the US, bringing to his interlocutors what he calls a “truly just” peace plan. But let’s face it: peace is not around the corner.
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Draghi is right: To rebuild competitiveness, Europe must reimagine its approach to innovation
Est. 4minTo reap the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI), the EU needs to change its regulatory approach, invest in research and development (R&D) and infrastructure, and skills, writes Google's Matt Brittin.
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EU bodies join forces at InnoTrans 2024
Est. 5minThe European Commission (EC), the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA), and the Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking (EU-Rail) are pleased to announce their common actions at InnoTrans 2024, the world’s largest trade fair focused on transport technology, held in Berlin on 24-27 September 2024.
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Embracing a pro-innovation approach can help close the EU health gap
Est. 4minProposed European pharmaceutical reforms aim to tackle, amongst others, healthcare access inequalities amongst Member States. However, some of the proposed changes may limit innovation and negatively impact patient access to medicines, highlighting the need for a balanced, pro-innovation approach.
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The Brief – The curious case of Denmark’s migration opt-out
Est. 6minThe Netherlands and Hungary are unlikely to get an opt-out from the EU’s migration policy, rarely has it ever happened, when Denmark got theirs, they got lucky – and France got the Strasbourg seat.
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Minerals for the Energy Transition: Can We All Work Together?
Est. 5minAs the world races toward a future powered by renewable energy, critical minerals have never been so sought-after. These essential components — cobalt, lithium, rare earth elements — form the backbone of technologies driving the green revolution. But geopolitics and a divided world get in the way: while the potential lack of minerals threatens our collective capacity to achieve that energy transition, we face export restrictions, competing initiatives excluding one another, divergent regulatory standards and investments that are scattered at best, absent at worst.
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The Brief – The Russia credentials of the new Commission
Est. 7minA la guerre comme à la guerre. The new European Commission, as announced by its chief Ursula von der Leyen, shines with its strong ‘military wing’.
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Type 1 Diabetes can be fast, but we can be faster! A call to boost early detection
Est. 6minThe European Diabetes Forum (EUDF), the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Europe, the Spanish Diabetes Federation (FEDE), the Parliamentarians for Diabetes Global Network (PDGN) and Sanofi co-organised the Early Detection Policy Forum to accelerate policy development for the early detection of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D).