Blog 3 Columns

  • It is time for innovation in the EU’s agriculture!

    It is time for innovation in the EU’s agriculture!1

    The agricultural sector encounters undoubtedly a form of crisis in Europe. In France, hundreds of farmers continue to unleash a torrent of almost daily protests against the collapse of milk and pork prices. In Italy, the situation is alarming too. Last year, Coldiretti, Europe’s largest agricultural professional organisation, rang an alarm bell: agriculture may disappear in thirty-two years in Italy.

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  • The future of traffic: (de)regulation of driverless vehicles

    The future of traffic: (de)regulation of driverless vehicles1

    At the beginning of July 2016, a Tesla vehicle that has a built-in Autopilot system crashed with a tractor trailer on a Florida highway, killing the driver. Neither the driver (who allegedly was watching Harry Potter while letting the Autopilot do the driving), neither the Tesla hit the brakes when the trailer appeared in front of the Tesla. Pending investigation by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the radar of the vehicle “tunes out what looks like an overhead road sign to avoid false braking events.” Just days following that incident, another driver was reported to escape a fatal incident thanks in part to the Autopilot.

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  • Goodbye Brexit dream, hello lessons learnt

    Goodbye Brexit dream, hello lessons learnt0

    On the 23rd of June 2016 the United Kingdom, one of the three pillars of the EU alongside France and Germany, and the biggest champion of its enlargement, votes to leave the Union. Whether this historic date will be remembered as Europe’s doomsday or the beginning of its resurrection now weights entirely on the EU shoulders.

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  • Stagnation – temporary or a new normal?

    Stagnation – temporary or a new normal?1

    The global financial and economic crisis has exposed a chasm between the theory and the practice of policy. Not only did the models underpinning policy choices not help anticipate the crisis, but now arguably they cannot even help fight it. Concerns are rising in the policymaking field that something structural – that models cannot capture – has changed. The stagnation afflicting the global economy could hence be a new normal, from which we can escape only by thinking out of the box of deceptively comfortable models.

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  • Corruption and corporatism – is TTIP still desirable for the EU?

    Corruption and corporatism – is TTIP still desirable for the EU?2

    Experiencing a period of economic stagnation, the European Union (EU) has started to look for different ways to enhance its economic growth rates. One solution is represented by the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). However, this solution is also one of the most debated issues within the circles of economists due to economic and social costs at stake. Among these costs, the issues of corruption and corporatism should not be neglected. Although they do not make the TTIP-related headlines, these issues are very important because they could minimize and even overcome the positive effects of trade liberalisation.

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  • Goodbye, FARC? How to end the world’s longest civil war

    Goodbye, FARC? How to end the world’s longest civil war0

    On the 23rd of June the Colombian government finally concluded a peace agreement with the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). Commentators quickly labelled it a historic moment, which potentially ends the world’s longest insurgency. Signing a peace agreement is, however, one thing, effectively demobilizing fighters and reintegrating FARC-controlled territory another. How should Colombia, and the international community, tackle these problems? How can we end a conflict that left more than 220,000 dead?

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The School of Public Policy at CEU