In early March 2022, EU housing ministers met informally for the first time in almost ten years. They had much to discuss – the housing crisis in Europe is evident. There is no country, no region, and no city where people are not suffering from the rising cost of housing. The ministers’ response was ambivalent. […]
Globalisation
We all remember the image of the two lonely dictators at the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Putin was the only international leader to attend, and he was courted accordingly. In return, he was allowed to take back home with him new trade contracts and the promise of ‘unlimited friendship’. Nevertheless, China cannot have been enthusiastic […]
The newly released proposals from the European Commission on the circular economy broaden the scope of product governance and design. They provide an opportunity to move towards a holistic assessment that takes the entire product life cycle into account. The sustainable product initiative in particular provides an opportunity to increase the scope of an integrated […]
For many years, the EU has been vocal about its ambition to become a powerful global actor. Finding a proper arrangement of relations with its biggest neighbour, Russia, has been the principal test of the viability of this aspiration. However, the recurrent crises Russia has triggered – especially the recent recognition of the breakaway republics […]
The last 40 years have seen a remarkable – and prolonged – global experiment in inequality. While the post-war years of social reform led a new drive towards greater equality, that trend was then set in reverse. Today most rich nations are significantly more unequal than in the 1980s. This reversal has been driven in […]
Imagine playing a football match with half of the team seated on the bench. Or rowing a boat with only one oar. Or playing a game of chess without the full complement of rooks and knights. The results of all three of these scenarios would be sub-optimal. Now imagine trying to recover from one of […]
Load more