The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) by Hartmut Bühl, Publisher, Paris Trade deals do not only have an economic impact. They also have a geopolitical aspect, cultural outcomes and often prepare a reordering of regional alignments, mostly creating stability.On 15th November 2020, the fifteen countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) held a solemn…
Presidential elections in the United States by Michael Singh, Managing Director, and Charles Thépaut, Visiting Fellow, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Washington, D.C. The period from 2017–2020 will be remembered as an especially difficult one for transatlantic relations, and one in which favorable European views of the United States reached all-time lows or…
Is the German presidency succeeding to consolidate the Union and reinforce the European institutions? by Nicola Beer MEP, Vice-President of the European Parliament, Strasbourg/Brussels Big plans lie ahead. They set the EU’s direction for the next six months. As a German pacemaker on the European stage, they create a stronger, united Europe. The German Council…
Concrete solutions for concrete challenges by Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Brussels The urgency of the EU’s security and defence initiatives is not diminishing. On the contrary: recent events in Mali, Libya, Ukraine and Nagorno-Karabakh confirm how deeply unstable countries and regions…
Donald Trump’s presidency was characterised first and foremost by his extravagant personality and his populism, but it also wrought a profound change in American politics.Today, populism is a feature of all democracies and the 46th President-elect, Joe Biden, would do well to cultivate a moderate populism if he is to “restore the soul” of his…
by Cyrille Schott, Préfet (h.) de région, Member of Board of EuroDéfense France, Paris If the performance of authoritarian regimes and democracies in the face of the pandemic has been questioned, another subject deserves consideration: that of the comparative effectiveness of unitary states and federal states. An accurate study of the issue will require sufficient…
by Professor Dr Ulf Dittmer, Director of the Institute for Virology, University Medicine Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen Viruses are very small pathogens that cannot be seen without significant magnification. However, modern borders do not stop these small pathogens from traveling around the world causing massive damage to human health and economies. We are currently still…
The Covid-19 pandemic has given powerful impetus to the digital transformation of health and care by Dr Roberto Viola, Director-General, DG Connect, European Commission, Brussels Digital technologies promise to make the work of medical personnel easier, including during a pandemic. In fact, the Covid-19 pandemic has shown that data and digital technologies are key for…
A n improved common EU health policy would not only be helpful – as has become more than clear against the background of the current pandemic – but is actually a downright vital necessity. Different approaches to the attempts at containment and treatment of the coronavirus, or the competing procurement of personal protective and urgently…
by Federico Fabbrini, Full Professor of EU Law at Dublin City University and Founding Director of the Brexit Institute, Dublin The withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) on 31st January 2020 represented an historical moment – but it did not represent the end of Brexit. On the one hand,…