When asked whether they think that their children will have a better or worse future than themselves, a Gallup poll in 2022 found Europeans to be the most pessimistic, in comparison to people from other continents. Remarkably, the most optimistic were people from Sub-Saharan Africa. Still, migration flows from Africa continue to put a heavy […]
The opportunities for Europe of closer cooperation with Africa Read More »
During the coup in Gabon, the army has warned that a “continued deterioration of social cohesion” threatens to “lead the country into chaos”, announcing the annulment of elections and the dissolution of institutions. This follows Gabonese Elections Centre, whereby it was officially announced that there had been a victory by Ali Bongo with 64.27% of
“France’s time in Africa is up” Read More »
In an interview with the Financial Times, Pamela Coke-Hamilton, executive director of the ITC, a joint agency of the UN and World Trade Organization, has lashed out against new EU deforestation rules. She told the newspaper that the ban on goods linked to deforestation from entering the EU in effect favour major corporations able to
Writing for Euractiv, Francesco Sassi, a research fellow in energy geopolitics and markets at Ricerche Industriali ed Energetiche (RIE) in Bologna, comments on the events in Niger and the implications for Europe. “Rome is seeking US and EU support for its “new” and “peer-to-peer” approach towards continental instability – a plan dubbed the “Mattei Plan”,
“Coup in Niger is the consequence of Western neglect of Africa” Read More »
Writing in Belgian magazine Trends, Professor Marc De Vos comments how things stand during the Ukraine war: “At the cost of many human lives and equipment, Ukraine has already recaptured several hundred square kilometers of territory. But Russia occupies some 160,000 square kilometers, an area twice the size of the Benelux. Lacking a strong air
“For Ukraine, there is a sober military reality” Read More »
The Renewable Energy Sources Act In 1999, a group of German parliamentarians drafted the Renewable Energies Sources Act, known as EEG, a simple but revolutionary policy that fundamentally transformed the renewable energy market. The EEG stipulated that anyone who constructed a renewable power plant, such as a solar PV project or a wind farm,
How to create a hydrogen market: keep it simple Read More »
Earlier this month, UK Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch signed the “Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership”. The CPTPP is a new trade deal with 11 Asian and Pacific countries, covering a trade area of about 500 million people or 15 percent of world GDP. More countries have applied to join. China is among then.
UK signs first major post-Brexit trade deal Read More »
Experts have warned that EU’s carbon border scheme is punitive, and dramatically reduces the space for developing countries to achieve growth and to create jobs. The so-called CBAM enters into force on a transitional basis in October and it introduces a carbon tax on exports to the EU. A study carried out by the African
“Cost of EU CBAM climate tariff for Africa is four times higher than EU developmend aid” Read More »
Francesco Sassi, a Research Fellow Energy Geopolitics & Markets at Ricerche Industriali ed Energetiche in Bologna, discusses how Cyprus has announced the plan for linking its major gas reservoirs to Israel’s east Mediterranean gas fields. He comments: “It seems both Israeli PM Netanyahu and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides back the project, talks are to start
“The end of the EastMed pipeline?” Read More »
Writing in Politico, Japanese Foreign Affairs Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi comments: “The security of Europe and that of the Indo-Pacific region can no longer be discussed separately — that was my main message when I attended the NATO ministerial meeting last year for the first time as Japanese foreign minister.” He notes that in “the Indo-Pacific, unilateral