Hoekstra – European Neighbourhood Monitor

An Endless Appetite for Taxes: Inside the EU Commission’s Policy Mindset

This summer, the European Commission unveiled five new proposed “own resources” to fund the EU’s next long-term budget — the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) covering 2028–2034. While two of these ideas, the “Corporate Resource for Europe” (CORE) and the “Tobacco Excise Duty Own Resource” (TEDOR), have drawn the loudest resistance from member states, the real […]

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A Crisis of Trust

European Union / ENM

How the EU’s NGO Funding Machine is Losing Public Confidence By Pieter Cleppe Once hailed as the world’s most trusted institutions, NGOs have seen their credibility erode. Two decades ago, the Edelman Trust Barometer ranked NGOs above corporations, governments, and media. Today, businesses are more trusted than NGOs. This shift isn’t accidental—it’s the result of

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The European Commission: Out of Touch with Reality and Democracy

Environment, Trade / ENM

By Pieter Cleppe, editor-in-chief, BrusselsReport.eu As the European Commission charges ahead with a new climate ambition—cutting emissions by 90% by 2040 compared to 1990 levels—it seems determined to ignore both economic warning signs and the political will of European citizens. Despite a clear electoral setback for green parties in the 2024 European Parliament elections, Brussels

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