Articles

Franziska Brantner MdB talks about her hopes that the new German government will reframe its European policy. Its priorities in this process should be the European Green Deal, defending the rule of law and bolstering the EU’s capacity to act.

Yes, Brexit is partly to blame for Britain’s supply chain crisis, says Ros Taylor. But ending free movement has exposed deeper problems within the labour market.

Transport makes a significant contribution to global employment and provides economic opportunities for millions across the world, acting as a key enabler for trade, manufacturing and mobility. In Europe alone, the transport industry directly employs around 10 million people. However, the human costs of transport – both present and future – cannot be ignored.

Reducing methane emissions from oil and gas production to consumption is key in preventing radiative forcing. Shutting down the most immediate unabated emissions of the greenhouse gas methane can be done at no net cost and it has enormous potential in terms of climate policy. Climate tipping points in relation to global warming must be avoided. Yet, the oil and gas industry does not exhaust all options to reduce methane leakages, partly due to a lack of regulation. The EU is planning to deliver binding legislation to this end, covering also gas imports. This event presented concrete policy proposals for a methane charge and a performance standard.

WhatsApp is huge in Spain. It is on almost every phone and Spaniards spend more time on this platform than in any other digital space. Telegram is also growing massively, yet the fundamental role these private messaging apps play in the dissemination of disinformation has often been overlooked. It is there where most disinformation originates and, at the same time, where it is most difficult to monitor.

The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened many of the challenges that mothers around the world face as the global health threat and resulting economic downturn have created a caregiving crisis that has disproportionately affected women and motherhood.  

In the pandemic year 2021, Germany has voted. It is already clear that what is needed is a new political culture of enablement and participation. Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung President Dr. Ellen Ueberschär comments on the results of the German federal elections.

The German parliamentary election campaign played out on the internet as never before. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, this was certainly necessary, but it brought with it all the evils we have previously seen in US election campaigns: disinformation campaigns and hate speech were used to discredit candidates, paid political online advertising and foreign influence circumvented basic democratic values. As a woman, Annalena Baerbock the Greens' candidate for Chancellor, was particularly affected. The elections have shown that what we need, in Germany and the EU, are better media skills for the population and clear rules for communication platforms.

This analysis explores whether and how mutually recognised quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs are creating enhanced trade benefits for third countries’ producer groups in the frame of the Common Market Organisation and Association Agreements of the European Union. A case-study on coffee protected by designations of origin in Central America.

Germany has voted. The SPD, Greens and FDP come out of the elections as the winners, but take a very different view of the results – depending on their expectations and the pressure they feel upon them to act. By and large, the trend towards a party system in which no single party dominates continues. Constituency seats played a very particular role in these elections. This brief analysis provides an overview of the initial results, with a more comprehensive, empirical analysis to follow in the next few days.