Articles

The European Union (EU) is stepping up efforts to draw in private investment to meet its biodiversity and climate goals. This risks speculation, prioritises profitable projects over vital habitats, and reduces nature to tradable commodities. 

The world faces rising hunger and ecological breakdown, driven by industrialised food systems. Yet no institution effectively guides global policymaking. Responsibility is split among competing agencies with overlapping mandates, rival funding, and weak oversight. The fragmentation of United Nations (UN) food agencies is a political choice that corporations exploit to reshape institutions for commercial interests.

For millions of households in the United States, putting food on the table has become a daily struggle. Meanwhile, a handful of powerful suppliers dominate everyday staples such as eggs, soft drinks, beef, chocolate. By doing so, they reap enormous profits. One possible solution: public-sector stores that treat food not as a commodity but as a public good to make healthy, affordable food accessible to everyone. This idea could help reshape the food system.

Public food procurement is largely driven by cost minimisation, reinforcing corporate concentration and the spread of ultra-processed foods. Brazil offers a different model, using public purchasing to support smallholder farmers and improve diets.

Across Africa, millions of people still rely on territorial markets rooted in local food cultures and informal trade. As food imports rise and ultra-processed diets spread, these food networks are not relics of the past, but essential to Africa's future. Yet these systems are rarely in the focus of agricultural or investment policy.

Deregulation of agricultural markets has led to volatile prices, unequal subsidies and farmers often selling below production costs. This undermines livelihoods and sustainable farming. Stronger European market regulation and fair pricing rules are needed to secure stable incomes and sustainability, and drive the much-needed agroecological transition.

Wars and speculation are pushing up prices of agricultural commodities and food worldwide. Public buffer stocks for food can help cushion inflation and the impact of price shocks.

What von der Leyen’s State of the Union says about the state of EU foreign and security policy.

Itamaraty, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is believed to be one of the most professional diplomatic bodies within Latin America, especially significant considering its relative autonomy from the executive. Nevertheless, the next Brazilian presidential elections could have a dramatic effect on its diplomacy and foreign policy. In recent years, Brazil has embraced multipolarity, but a conservative president could easily transform the international projection of this South American giant. 

Two paradoxes stand out in relation to gender and Brazil’s 2026 elections. First, while women are central as voters, they remain markedly underrepresented in political institutions. Second, despite persistent gender-based violence and gender inequalities in Brazil, progressive forces struggle to expand their appeal among women, while the (far) right experiences growing support among segments of this decisive group. This analysis explores the two paradoxes and offers reflections on potential implications of the upcoming elections for both gender equality in Brazil and EU–Brazil relations.