David Frost’s resignation as Brexit minister matters: he greatly influenced Boris Johnson’s Brexit policy. With Liz Truss replacing him, UK policy towards the EU may become less confrontational.
In October 2021, UK goods trade was 15.7 per cent, or £12.6 billion, lower than it would have been if the UK had stayed in the EU’s single market and customs union.
The EU's upcoming rules for big tech will degrade some digital services to improve long-term competition and innovation. The trade-off is justified – but law-makers must keep consumers on-side.
The recent G7 deal will not bolster the European Commission’s broader efforts to fight aggressive tax practices. The Commission needs political realism and more modest aims to make headway.
To gauge what the EU's next big political fights will be, look at what Ursula Von der Leyen did not say in her annual speech to the European Parliament.
To decarbonise heavy industry, the EU needs a high and stable carbon price, an end to free emission permits, a level-playing field with foreign competitors, and support for green investment.
The recovery fund will raise growth, and member-states’ investments and reforms are largely the right ones. But to make a big difference to climate change, the fund needs to be permanent and much larger.
The European Peace Facility (EPF) is a new pot of money intended to make the EU a stronger military actor in crises. But the ability to spend more will not in itself make the Union better able to resolve conflicts.
Corruption is a problem for the European Union and endangers the rule of law. To protect EU money and stop democratic backsliding, the EU needs better anti-graft plans.
Thirty years after the coup that triggered the Soviet Union’s collapse, Russia is ruled by the heirs of the plotters, not their democratic opponents. Why?
