The EU’s policy of external democracy support has gained momentum, particularly after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, which defined democracy as a fundamental principle of the Union, to be enshrined in all policies of external significance.… Read More Democracy support in EU external policy
Do you, or someone you know, suffer from a rare disease – that affects fewer than 5 in 10 000 people? Most rare disease patients suffer from even rarer conditions, affecting only 1 person in 100 000 or more. However, as there are over 5 000 rare diseases, the number of people suffering from them is high – it is estimated that 30 million Europeans live with a rare disease.… Read More People with rare diseases [What Europe does for you]
The European Union (EU) faces a number of challenges to its goal of achieving a trustworthy and cyber-resilient digital single market: (i) a lack of funding for European cybersecurity companies to scale up; (ii) fragmentation of the European cybersecurity industry; (iii) strong dependence on non-EU providers; (iv) misalignment between public research and development programmes and market needs; (v) regulatory fragmentation; and (vi) a lack of common standardisation and procurement requirements across Member States.… Read More Achieving a sovereign and trustworthy ICT industry in the EU
EU values are top of the agenda for the second plenary session of February, in Brussels, with a Commission statement expected on Wednesday afternoon on its decision to activate Article 7 (1) TEU as a result of the situation on the rule of law in Poland.… Read More European Parliament Plenary Session, February II 2018
Donald Trump has made a number of highly controversial decisions during his first 13 months as US President – whether on foreign trade, climate change, migration, taxation or health care.… Read More President Trump’s record to date [What Think Tanks are thinking]
On a daily basis, citizens from all across the EU and the wider world address the European Parliament to request information, express opinions or suggest ideas on an extensive range of topics. The Citizens’ Enquiries Unit (Ask EP) provides answers to citizens on the issues raised. In 2017, citizens put more than 52 000 questions, suggestions and comments to the European Parliament or its President.… Read More Citizens’ enquiries to the European Parliament in 2017
The European Commission has described the free trade and investment protection agreements (FTA/IPA) signed with Vietnam as the most ambitious deals of their type ever concluded by the EU and a developing country… Read More EU-Vietnam trade and investment agreements [International Agreements in Progress]
Economical and versatile, palm oil has become the world’s most widely used vegetable oil. However, its production comes at a heavy environmental cost, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia, the two main producers. Efforts to make its production more sustainable still have a long way to go.… Read More Palm oil: economic and environmental impacts
E-participation in politics is expanding worldwide, driven by the development of digital tools that can be used for citizen involvement – social media, deliberative software, e-voting systems – and growing access to the internet.… Read More Prospects for e-democracy in Europe
The digital revolution is reshaping the world, changing people’s habits in communication, work, leisure and politics. A major part of this revolution is the expansion of the economy based on digital platforms that match demand and supply for labour without an intermediation of traditional corporations. … Read More The Platform Economy [What Think Tanks are thinking]