Economy
Europe fights the monkeypox outbreak with unequal defences
Only two European Union member states confirm that they had strategic reserves of the most effective and safe vaccine against monkeypox, a smallpox-like virus.
South East Europe: investments in innovation are not enough
Within the EU, the Balkan countries are among those that invest less in research and innovation. European funds make a positive contribution, but the gap with the rest of Europe still tends to widen. The reasons are manifold.
How are EU countries doing against inflation?
Transfers to the most vulnerable, lower taxes, price regulation... European countries are taking steps to contain inflation. Do the measures all rely on the same levers? Are some strategies more effective than others? Here's an overview.
In which EU regions do people work less and get paid more?
The average working week in Europe has shortened since 2000, but the differences between EU regions remain significant. People in some Greek regions work up to 12 hours longer than people in some regions of the Netherlands.
The EU faces off with Big Tech: GDPR’s enforcement enters its final phase
Member states have imposed eight hundred and eighty sanctions since the law was introduced in May 2018, but the war against the tech giants has just begun. If the EU wants to win it, it will need to commit to it with greater investment and cooperation from all its members.
Western Balkans: the pandemic penalises the youngest
High unemployment rates, increasingly apparent inequalities, and the digital divide. In the WB6, the crisis risks leaving young people behind and provoking a new wave of migration, but it could also offer new opportunities to revive economies.
Half of the European funds spent to fight climate change went into ineffective measures
As part of the Common Agricultural Policy, the European Union spent 100 billion Euros to combat climate change between 2014 and 2020. But these funds, which make up half of the entire EU budget earmarked for the fight against climate change, have not led to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Publishers’ reliance on Google and Facebook is a problem for media independence
Big tech companies bring in plenty of traffic for media outlets but take a disproportionate chunk of the earnings. And even when agreements are signed, it’s Big Tech that sets the rules
Europe is no longer afraid of nationalising companies
Nationalising companies is no longer a taboo topic for the European Union's state members. After the 1990s and the beginning of the 21st-century privatisations, the economic crisis of 2008 gave a central role back to State ownership. The COVID-19 outbreak has opened the leading European companies' doors to the public capital.
