By Shada Islam The European Union’s expanding relationship with China now includes a much-needed “soft power” pillar: on April 18, both sides formally launch a “high level people-to-people dialogue” aimed at ensuring the EU-China conversation in more than just trade, business and global politics, questions already covered by existing EU-China high-level contacts.
by Willy De Backer The European Commission presented on 25 October a package of measures to support social entrepreneurship, reduce red tape for small businesses and make the extracting and logging industry more transparent in its reporting of activities with foreign governments. The package was presented jointly by three commissioners (Antonio Tajani, Industry and Entrepreneurship; Michel Barnier, Internal Market and Services and László Andor, Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion).
by Willy De Backer One week before the official publication of the European Commission’s legislative proposals to overhaul the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), the OECD has published an evaluation report of the Union’s past and present farming policy reforms.
by Willy de Backer Europe’s reliance on Russian gas imports has been a growing concern for policymakers ever since a conflict between Gazprom in Moscow and the government of Ukraine interrupted supplies in the winter of 2006.
by Willy De Backer “Tyrannical” and “draconian” communist-inspired central planning and “war on cars” are the phrases used in some media to describe the new EU Transport White Paper presented on 28 March by Commissioner Siim Kallas. The reactions demonstrate the lack of awareness for the challenges our transport system is facing in the next four decades.