President Donald Trump is consistently trying to wear out the multilateral trading system in order to capitalize on US position of economic power against its trading partners. Does it sound very mercantilist? It does, and it is.
READ MOREThe fifth round of negotiations between the EU and Indonesia on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement was held in Brussels in July 2018. Despite being at early stages, the negotiations prompted heated debate and strong opposition from international NGOs, as the Commission has poorly addressed major issues related to environmental and labour standards, as well as sustainable investment and development.
READ MOREThere is a viable policy to protect freedom of press in the age of social media platforms: universal basic income. It shifts the focus from click rates towards deepening public debate. Our democracy may well depend on it.
READ MOREThe EU leaders agreed in June 2018 to set up migration centres in Africa. The decision brings more problems than hope that the migration crisis facing Europe would be solved.
READ MOREOn the 4th of October 2017, the EU released its proposals for the change of the value added tax (VAT) rules, which included key reforms for cross-border trade between businesses in Member States. The initiative promised to decrease the EU VAT gap, in other words, the difference between expected VAT revenues and actual member state collections. While broad questions remain about the new system, the EU is convinced that the VAT fraud is to be reduced by 80% by 2022 thanks to the proposed reform.
READ MOREAll across the globe, Islamic finance is gaining momentum. Based on an interest-free paradigm, this budding industry for European financial markets is deemed a potential game-changer for financial stability.
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