Insights

General Politics

EU - US trade and tech partnerships: on the brink of a breakthrough?

General Politics

Jon Garvie
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When the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) was created following a summit in June 2021, both sides viewed it primarily as a means of reinvigorating a badly damaged relationship, following the failure of the TTIP negotiations, the tantrums of the Trump years and the fall-out over AUKUS. 

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General Politics

Unpacking von der Leyen’s state of the EU

General Politics

Alessandro Gangarossa
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The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, delivered her third state of the European Union speech on September 14th before the European Parliament, giving sight of her priorities for 2023 and using a rare public platform to speak more directly to audiences beyond the immediate EU stakeholders. 

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Trade and Manufacturing icon

End of the honeymoon? Domestic policy priorities test EU-US trade cooperation

Trade & Manufacturing

Alessandro Gangarossa
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The next major point of friction in transatlantic trade relations is emerging around policies to support the domestic electric vehicles industry. The EU has raised grievances around the potential discriminatory effects of the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the United States – which includes tax credits and incentives for US battery and electric vehicle…

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General Politics

How resilient is the renewed EU-US cooperation?

General Politics

Ana Martínez
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Nearly two years on from President Biden’s election victory, the ill-tempered clashes between US and EU officials over trade, climate change and security during the last decade can appear a historical anomaly. Leaders on both sides are now increasingly aligned in diagnosing the threats posed by Russia and China and looking to multilateral bodies such as NATO or the UN to…

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General Politics

Shelving Schengen – how to unpack the EU’s steps and options to curb Russian tourism

General Politics

Magnus Obermann
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Following an agreement among EU foreign ministers in late August, on September 9th the European Council adopted a recommendation by the European Commission to suspend the 2007 EU-Russia visa facilitation agreement. As of September 12th, Russian applicants for short-term visas face a lengthier, harder and much costlier process. Similar restrictions for long-term visas…

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General Politics

UN General Assembly: progress or paralysis

General Politics

Jon Garvie
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The UN General Assembly’s High-Level General Debate (i.e leaders' speeches) starts on Tuesday, 20 September, facing a hot war in Europe, a dialogue of the deaf between the world’s two superpowers and an accelerating global decline in democratic norms. Some of the lesser-known commitments set out in the UN Declaration of Human Rights – for example, “the right to a standard…

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General Politics

The death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

The death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
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The death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is a moment of great sadness and reflection. For many in Britain she was the most prominent and permanent figure in their lives beyond their immediate family - and I would include myself in this category. Her reign was of historic proportions. She served so long her first prime minister, Winston Churchill, was born over a…

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TMT icon

Top in Tech: Roger Taylor on making AI work for governments and citizens

TMT

Conan D'Arcy
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This week on Top in Tech, Conan D'Arcy speaks to Roger Taylor, former Chair of both the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation and the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. They talk about what governments get wrong about AI, the future of the UK's digital ethics strategies, and what lessons can be drawn from past mistakes in the administrative use of…

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General Policy icon

Qatar and the future of European energy security

General Policy

Ahmed Helal
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Commenting on Europe’s gas crisis, the prime minister of Belgium recently said that Europe would face “terrible winters” for the next five to ten years. The warning by the Belgian premier is echoed by the chief executive of Shell, Europe’s largest oil and gas company, who has said that Europe may need to ration access to energy for several years as it weans itself off…

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Health and Life Sciences icon

How ICSs will aid the NHS's digital transformation

Health and Life Sciences

Rosie Hill
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Welcome to the final episode of our mini-series exploring the NHS's adoption of Integrated Care Systems, presented by the GC Health and Life Sciences practice.

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General Politics

Global Month Ahead: Italian election, US midterms, and the UNGA

General Politics

Dedi Dinarto
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Welcome to the Global Month Ahead, a new Global Counsel podcast highlighting the key events in 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.

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TMT icon

Back to school in Brussels – where next for digital policy?

TMT

Max von Thun
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As the long summer days start drawing to a close and Brussels gradually awakens from recess, attention is shifting towards the EU’s policy agenda for the autumn. While digital policy has been a cornerstone of the current Commission’s legislative agenda so far, there is a sense that tech is set for a downgrade as other challenges – above all the war in Ukraine, inflation…

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National resistance to joint medical procurement: fractures in the European Health Union?

Health and Life Sciences

Saskia Hirsch
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As European governments reflect on lessons from covid-19 to improve pandemic preparedness, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (EU) recently reached a provisional agreement on a new EU law on serious cross-border threats to health (CBTH). The legislation, which is part of a package of regulations for a European Health Union that aims to reinforce…

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Top in Tech: is tech policy still an EU priority?

TMT

Ana Martínez
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This week on Top in Tech, Conan D'Arcy is joined by Associate Director Max von Thun and EU Policy Practice Director Ana Martínez to discuss the past year in EU tech policy. Has the Ukraine conflict upended the European Commission's focus on tech, and what have been the big policy achievements so far?

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Health and Life Sciences icon

Will ICSs address health inequalities in England?

Health and Life Sciences

Rosie Hill
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Welcome to the second episode of a new mini-series exploring the NHS's adoption of Integrated Care Systems, presented by the Global Counsel Health and Life Sciences practice.

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General Politics

After previous controversial elections, could Kenya’s electoral commission make amends this year?

General Politics

Ed King
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Kenyan elections have a troublesome past. In 2007, post-election violence saw over 1,200 people killed and triggered a new constitution which introduced the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). But violence again marred elections in 2013 and 2017, with the latter declared "invalid, null and void"...

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Top in Tech: Blair Levin on the history and future of US tech regulation

TMT

Conan D'Arcy
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Few people have been as pivotal in the history of US tech and telecom regulation as Blair Levin.

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General Politics

Accidental war and Xi's sleepless nights

General Politics

Jens Presthus
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At a private meeting in Beijing before the covid-19 pandemic, President Xi Jinping confided to a visiting foreign guest that there were two things which kept him awake at night. The first, China falling into the middle-income trap. The second, China going to war with the US “by accident”. The latter concern of Xi could not be more pertinent in the wake of…

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