European Commission

TTIP trade deal: will new measures weaken Governments’ power to act in the public interest?

By Nicolette Butler Filed Under: All posts, Europe Posted: April 28, 2016

One of the biggest bones of contention in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership talks centres on the proposed Investment Court System. Critics are concerned that the ‘investor-state dispute settlement’ mechanism could weaken the power of governments to act in the best interests of their people. Whilst the EU Commission has sought to allay critics […]

How the danger from the EU-US trade agreement TTIP still lurks in the fine print

By Gabriel Siles-Brügge Filed Under: All posts, Europe Posted: April 26, 2016

Controversy surrounding the UK’s trading relationship with the US continues, following President Barack Obama’s visit here. Whilst investment protection remains the key issue in the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks, Gabriel Siles-Brügge argues that a key danger is being ignored: the agreement’s cross-cutting regulatory provisions. This week sees the 13th round of […]

The well-being of young migrant men

By Necla Acik Filed Under: All posts, Featured Posted: September 22, 2015

As large numbers of migrants, many of them young men, arrive on European shores, questions abound about their future. What do the coming years hold for them? What challenges will they face? And will they be happy? Necla Acik looks at the evidence….. A project just completed asked over 300 young migrant men about their […]

The need for joined-up thinking on energy and cities

By Stefan Bouzarovski and Saska Petrova Filed Under: Europe, Featured, Science and Technology, Urban Posted: June 5, 2015

The EU’s new ‘Energy Union’ does not go far enough in reshaping our demand for energy, argue Professor Stefan Bouzarovski and Dr Saska Petrova. One of the ten stated priorities of the new European Commission has been the establishment of an ‘Energy Union’ – a common policy umbrella that will, says the EU, ensure “secure, […]

Beyond the headlines on TTIP: Beware the fine print

By Gabriel Siles-Brügge and Nicolette Butler Filed Under: All posts, Europe, Featured Posted: June 1, 2015

Although much of the criticism in the UK of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) has focused on the NHS and ‘corporate tribunals’, Gabriel Siles-Brügge and Nicolette Butler argue that this overlooks one of its central purposes: a series of provisions that could make it more difficult for governments to regulate in the public […]

Counting Roma: the ethical dilemma

By Yaron Matras Filed Under: Ethnicity, Featured Posted: May 20, 2015

Roma are one of Europe’s most marginalised and deprived communities. Addressing their problems is made more difficult by lack of transparency in the methods used to collect data on them, argues Professor Yaron Matras, as a new project is launched to tackle the problem. Europe’s Roma population suffers extreme poverty and social marginalisation. European institutions have […]

An unhealthy partnership?

By Neil Perkins and Jonathan Hammond Filed Under: Featured Posted: February 18, 2015

MPs have just had a bitterly divided debate on what the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will mean for the NHS. Neil Perkins and Jonathan Hammond consider the evidence. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a trade deal currently being negotiated between the European Union and the United States. If TTIP goes ahead, […]

Fixing our European Parliament is first step to greater democracy

By Georgios Papanagnou Filed Under: Europe, Featured Posted: May 21, 2014

A series of reforms that started roughly around the late 1970s have transformed the European Parliament from an ineffective institution to an assembly with significant powers, writes Dr Georgios Papanagnou. But he argues that there is much still to be done – and this should be an urgent priority for the European political class. There […]

Failure of Euro leaders will be felt at the polls

By Dimitris Papadimitriou and Sotirios Zartaloudis Filed Under: Europe, Featured Posted: May 12, 2014

Analysis of Greece’s financial meltdown has tended to focus on the deficiencies of the Economic and Monetary Union, but the crisis was also the result of failures by the Eurozone’s leadership in terms of co-ordination and communication, explain Prof Dimitris Papadimitriou and Dr Sotirios Zartaloudis. And they argue the results of this European failure of […]

Presidental hopeful Verhofstadt showing courage needed to reinvent the EU

By Mustafa Cirakli Filed Under: Europe, Featured Posted: May 9, 2014

Ahead of the EU elections, Liberal candidate for the European Commission Presidency, Guy Verhofstadt, came to Manchester to outline his credentials. Mustafa Cirakli reports that Verhofstadt’s message was clear: we need more Europe. National media across the EU have focused on the rise of Eurosceptics such as UKIP in the UK and France’s National Front. But […]