EU

  In July, the European Commission published its “European Innovation Scoreboard 2024” (EIS), “a comparative assessment of the Research and Innovation performance of EU Member States, other European, and selected third countries.” At first sight, the main results offer a somewhat comforting picture. The scoreboard, overall, shows that the European Union countries do innovate. In […]

  In September, Mario Draghi, formerly the Italian prime minister, head of the European Central Bank (ECB) and a prominent member of the pan-European establishment, together with his team issued a much-anticipated report on the economic state of the European Union. It highlighted the EU’s gloomy prospects without a change of course and presented a […]

  Negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union and the Southern Common Market – known by the Spanish abbreviation Mercosur (Mercado Comun del Sur), the Portuguese Mercosul (Mercado Comum do Sul), or Nemby Nemuha in Guarani – have been ongoing since 1999. Implementation of a draft deal signed in 2019 remains stalled and […]

  Most advanced economies, including those of the European Union, used to welcome foreign direct investment (FDI) with open arms, with few questions asked. Not anymore: From the late 2010s onward, these countries started to adopt inward investment screening mechanisms for foreign transactions, and the pace of adoption has increased markedly in recent years. Since […]

  The European Union is seeking to make it more difficult to circumvent its sanctions regime. The 14th package of its sanctions against Russia, in force since June 25, 2024, is designed to increase liability risks for companies that have avoided the previous rounds. By the end of the year, the measures will apply to […]