As an integral part of the European Green Deal, the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, or CBAM, is in its essence a carbon tax on imported products coming into the EU. The policy aims to prevent so-called ‘carbon leakage’: a circumstance wherein strict climate policies in one economy (like the EU’s) incentivises polluting businesses to relocate to other countries with less ambitious environmental regulations. By imposing a carbon tax on foreign businesses whose goods are sold in the European market, CBAM intends to encourage cleaner industrial practices in non-EU countries. In doing so, CBAM also sets a level playing field for European businesses by preventing competing foreign firms from circumventing the EU’s domestic equivalent carbon tax, the Emissions Trading System (ETS).
When traveling to Armenia the first thing anyone notices is the terrible timetable for flights. But as it is right in the middle of the storm, there may be no better place to talk about peace.
A little over a year ago, the European commission presented its 2021 Strategic Foresight Report. Since then, Putin has caused panic by cutting of Europe’s gas supplies, Elon Musk has taken over Twitter and promised to get rid of censorship, and ECB interest rates have increased from -0,5% to 1,5%. Has this persuaded the EU to change course? Read on to find out.
This week director Adam Curtis released a series about the end of communism and democracy in Russia, called TraumaZone. If you would like an introduction or to read my opinion on episode one, you can start out at Fire of Europe.
Regionalization is ending the globalized world economy, last Monday’s decision by the Biden administration has greatly accelerated this process. Fire of Europe provides the necessary context.
In early 2020 (back in the good old days) Joel Kotkin published The Coming of Neo-Feudalism. Subtitled ‘a warning to the global middle class’ I felt it would be appropriate to investigate if one should heed his warning. The answer is a resounding yes.
Last Wednesday the second European debt crisis began when the announcement of an increase in the interest rate immediately put the Italian government in danger and necessitated a retreat. Read all about it at Fire of Europe.
To fully understand the impending ECB rate hike, it is good to see it within its historical context. To increase understanding I propose we look at the events of the 1970s as well as those of 2011.
For some weeks now I have been chewing on a Bloomberg article By John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge. Although I thoroughly enjoyed their analysis of the Ukraine war and its further implications, I do think it deserves criticism. Not on what they said, but more on what they did not say.
While this war is something many Europeans have not experienced before, the Western sanctions on Russia are equally shocking. As Europe seeks to find other sources of oil and natural guess, I worry we may become more dependent on a worse foe.
While Europe was busy decorating Christmas trees and googling elaborate recipes and the sweet voices of Mariah Carey and George Michael were heard in supermarkets from Cork to Cluj, Germany took steps to curtail the growth of Russia Today (RT). RT is a news channel, on the surface similar to Bloomberg or CNN, however, appearances are deceiving. RT is an arm of the Russian state and delivers either articles promoting a pro Russian stance, or alternatively, stories meant to discredit Western governments and foster discontent. While the English language version is allowed to continue its operations, the German version has recently been curtailed.
