Europe

  On July 17, the United States House of Representatives passed a bill prohibiting the Federal Reserve from creating a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Lawmakers consider the technology a threat to financial privacy and freedom, calling it incompatible with America’s fundamental democratic principles. The bill also codifies U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order from […]

  Recent developments in politics, economics and social cohesion are troubling for Europe. France is on the brink of bankruptcy, with deficits still around 6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Other countries – including Germany – are not much better off when one considers not only the official debt but also implicit debt. Implicit […]

  After United States President Donald Trump’s bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, a summit was held in Washington, D.C., with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the leaders of major European countries, NATO and the European Commission. The staging of these meetings was already significant. Alaska, once Russian territory, sits where the U.S. meets geographically with […]

  In March 2000, European Union leaders launched the Lisbon Strategy, an ambitious vision to make the EU the world’s most competitive economy by 2010. The goal was to foster a knowledge-based economy and a seamless internal market. Since then, the commitment has been repeated like a mantra – but the target date has continually been […]

  Russia is increasingly losing its grip on some of the former members of the Soviet Union in the Caucasus, the Caspian basin and Central Asia. This gives rise to new scenarios. China is very interested, which is certainly not in Europe’s interest. However, Turkiye, a true regional power, is also gaining influence in these […]