Insights

General Politics

Global Month Ahead: Elections in Brazil, China's National Congress, the EU Energy Crisis, and fears of a global recession

General Politics

Anikó Zsebik
|

Welcome back to the Global Month Ahead, Global Counsel's briefing on the events and stories that will define the month to come. In each episode, Global Macro Associate Director Isabelle Trick will hear from different members of the GC team to preview the month's stories before they are in the headlines.

Read more
General Politics

Six weeks later: how the Ukraine invasion has changed the world

General Politics

Alexander Smotrov
|

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has entered its second month, and Global Counsel continues to go beyond the headlines to cover the crisis through interactive events, in-depth analysis, and daily briefings.

Read more
General Politics

How the war in Ukraine sets the to-do-list of the prospective Hungarian government

General Politics

Anikó Zsebik
|

While the repercussions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine can be felt globally, the surrounding region is undoubtedly the most affected. The Baltics and Central European countries face an existential threat and are looking for security guarantees from the international community. A reprioritisation of public spending is inevitable due to economic worries and the strain…

Read more
Trade and Manufacturing icon

Lithuania-China trade dispute: what it means for the EU

Trade & Manufacturing

Alessandro Gangarossa
|

Anikó Zsebik, Yi-Fang Lee and Alessandro Gangarossa unpack a recent trade squabble between Lithuania and China over the former’s new Taiwan-friendly policies.

Read more
General Politics

Poland: a test case for EU's rule of law

General Politics

Anikó Zsebik
|

What do recent events in Poland tell us about the rule of law in the EU? Stephen Adams, Anikó Zsebik and Denzil Davidson look at how the question of EU-level legislation has collided with current events in Poland and what it means for other member states and the wider debate on sovereignty.

Read more
General Politics

Has the EU-Polish rule of law standoff reached a tipping point?

General Politics

Anikó Zsebik
|

For several years tensions around the conduct of the PiS government have buffeted bilateral relations between Warsaw and Brussels and other members of the European Council without quite reaching breaking point. In part this is because both sides have tiptoed around pushing it there. However, in the wake of the Polish Constitutional Court’s (PCC) ruling on the supremacy of…

Read more
General Politics

Assessing the impact of the green transition

General Politics

Tom White
|

Meaningful policy action on climate change entails costs and reforms for almost all economic activity, and at the European level we are starting to see what this means in practice. 

Read more
General Politics

Navigating Russian and Chinese “vaccine diplomacy” in the CEE and Western Balkans

General Politics

Alexander Smotrov
|

The covid-19 vaccine rollout in Central and Eastern Europe, including the Western Balkans, has not been immune to politicisation. Vaccination is seen as a powerful tool to accelerate post-covid economic recovery alongside stimulus packages, but with Russia and China getting involved, some compare it to the debate on national security concerns about critical infrastructure…

Read more
General Politics

Europe’s post-2008 political fragmentation is being tested

General Politics

Alessandro Gangarossa
|

The emergence of fragmented political landscapes has been an increasingly shared phenomena in European capitals in the past decade. The financial crisis was a profound shock for many European traditional centre-left and centre-right parties, which were dropped by the electorates both for their handling of the crisis and its aftermath. In their wake, smaller, often less…

Read more
General Politics

Money, power and respect in the EU’s latest crisis

General Politics

Anikó Zsebik
|

After relief at the agreement on EU spending priorities for 2021-27, the Brussels establishment was caught off-guard last week by vetoes from Hungary and Poland over the obscure-sounding “rule of law conditionality”. A requirement of the European Parliament and of a qualified majority of member states, this affects a tiny proportion of the €1.8 trn package, effectively…

Read more