Business and trade regulations
EU Institutions
Ireland’s Presidency pledges to strengthen EU’s competitiveness, security and resilience
On July 1, Ireland formally assumed the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the eighth time as the bloc faces significant...
Electric power and transmission networks
EU countries reach deal on Grids Package to boost resilience and decarbonization
Before passing the baton to Ireland, the EU's Cypriot Presidency has reached an agreement among EU member states, taking key steps to deliver lower...
Transport
EU landmark deal improves air passenger rights protection
The European Parliament and the Council have reached a landmark political agreement on the revision of EU air passenger rights, marking the first overhaul...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Brussels’ Google file is only half-written
Type something into Google. A question about a lump, a debt, a divorce, a political party you would rather not be seen supporting. Under...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Europe’s regulatory reset: Why simplification must go further
The late motorsport innovator and founder of Lotus Cars Colin Chapman lived and worked by the maxim “simplify and add lightness.” The same tenet...
Oil & Gas
Industry warns EU Methane Regulation risks disruption to Europe’s oil and gas supply
Oil and gas companies have urged the European Union to pause its Methane Regulation, warning that it could put EU gas and crude oil...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Why the EU–India trade deal marks a strategic turning point
The Indian Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore once said that you cannot cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water. The importance...
Finance
Greek Minister Pierrakakis takes the helm of the Eurogroup
Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Minister of Economy and Finance of Greece, was elected President of the Eurogroup on December 11 in line with Protocol 14 of...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Europe risks doubling down on its big green mistake
John Maynard Keynes once said that when the facts change, he changes his mind. The words of that world famous UK economist should be...
Russia Sanctions
Watering down U.S. Russia sanctions for Hungary – what was gained?
For a while, it appeared as if the war in Ukraine was again a top priority in the White House, but ultimately that turned...
Interviews
EU-Uzbekistan agreement to boost trade, regional integration
After the historic visit to Brussels of the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, NE Global discussed with Eldor Tulyakov, Executive Director at the Development...
Russia Sanctions
As Trump’s Ukraine peace initiative fades, new U.S. sanctions unleashed
The war in Ukraine is again front and center in the White House. While U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace drive had started to...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
How Europe should avoid the fate of Ophelia
In her hit single “The Fate of Ophelia” Taylor Swift sings about the plight of the Shakespearean heroine and draws parallels with her own...
Freedom of Movement and Travel
Taking a digital leap forward, the new EU Entry/Exit System progressively starts operations
The Entry/Exit System (EES), the European Union’s new digital border system which will apply to non-EU travellers entering or leaving the EU, became operational...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Government and money
Autumn: a season of mellow fruitfulness, or of storms, shorter days and financially darker nights? Either way, it’s when Rachel Reeves’ next Budget is...
Trade
Trump trade deal leaves some in EU unhinged
U.S. President Donald Trump completed his five-day “private visit” to Scotland on July 25-29, which beyond his golf course visits included a number of...
Energy
UN Secretary‑General: The world has passed the point of no return in shift to renewables
Ahead of COP30, UN Secretary‑General António Guterres said the world has passed the point of no return in shifting to renewables, urging governments to...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Summer food for thought: why Brussels needs a pro-business reset
The American author Charles Bowden once said that summertime is always the best of what might be. As the traditional European summer break approaches,...
Major Projects
U.S. – Africa Business Summit generates $2.5 billion in commitments and agreements
This year, 12 of the world’s 20 fastest-growing economies are in Africa, making it the second-fastest-growing region globally - trailing only Asia.
For decades, U.S....
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
How the arrest of a French politician carries lessons for Brussels
A French senator caught smuggling 22 kilos of tobacco in her suitcase should be a wake-up call for Brussels. But so far, the European...
Agriculture & Food Security
Biosolutions can leverage nature to strengthen Europe’s resilience, food security and competitiveness
Biosolutions are built on nature’s smallest components but hold immense global potential. They can help Europe become more sustainable and resilient by reducing dependencies,...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
EU rules should not stifle entrepreneurship
In explaining the difference between hope and optimism, the author and Czech President Vaclav Havel stated that one is the conviction that something will...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
The ruling of the EU Court on “Golden passports” and the consequences in Tirana
“Whatever the European Court decides," and “If it says it can’t be done, we won’t do it; if it says it can, we will.”This...
Economy & Business
Doom, gloom or boom?
While it is an almost painful daily task to ascertain where the Trump administration is positioned on the question of tariff policy, and traders...
Interviews
Romania utilizing all available resources to boost its energy independence
Romania is using all energy resources available, including natural gas as the country advances rapidly with Neptun Deep gas project and new wind and...
Kazakhstan
EU-Kazakhstan boost cooperation in energy, raw materials, transport, sustainability
The European Union and Kazakhstan have discussed at a meeting in Brussels the successful implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Central Asian...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
A Code of Conduct for the HR Outsourcing sector
The quote - often attributed to Deng Xiaoping - runs that when you open a window you let in fresh air, but you also...
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan accelerates digital transformation with new visa options
Upgrading its visa regime for skilled foreign workers and potential investors to world-class standards to support the Central Asia country’s economic development and digital...
Trade
T is for tariffs
If the quick freeze and attempted shut down of American foreign assistance through USAID was not enough, on February 10 U.S. President Donald Trump...
Artificial Intelligence - AI
EU officially implements landmark AI law
The EU officially implemented its new landmark AI law on February 2, aiming to ensure safety and ethical use of Artificial Intelligence. The European...
Economy & Business
Global reaction to Trump tariffs only reinforces his use of this tired and risky strategy
True to form, U.S. President Donald Trump disrupted global markets with a three-day surge of tariff announcements, border security negotiations and ultimately a 30-day...
USA
Donald Trump is inaugurated amidst promises of security, stability and prosperity
After storming a frigid Washington D.C. during his extended inauguration festivities on January 20, Donald J Trump, America’s 47th and 45th President, launched a...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Transforming Central Asia from a frontier market to a stable investment
Central Asia is considered a frontier market. However, at least two of the five countries that constitute this region, namely Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, are...
EU Institutions
Bulgaria and Romania become full Schengen area countries
As from January 1, 2025, travel will become possible without land border controls to and between Bulgaria and Romania. This follows a unanimous decision...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
A Christmas Carol for the new European Commission
In the novel “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens it is noted that “there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter...
Democracy & Human Rights
Biden administration takes final steps to counter global corruption and human rights abuses
Announcing a global grab-bag of new sanctions, possibly some of its last, the Biden administration took major steps on December 9 by authorizing new...
EU Institutions
Facing mounting challenges, new EU Commission takes office
Amidst global geopolitical turmoil, the European Commission of Ursula von der Leyen officially took office on December 1 with the President pledging that over...
Russia Sanctions
U.S. sanctions Russian banks, finance officials and securities registrars
The U.S. announced on November 21 new sanctions targeting Russia’s largest remaining non-designated bank (Gazprombank), as well as dozens of other financial institutions and...
Terrorism
Washington targets Syrian conglomerate funding Iran and Houthis
On November 14 the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 26 companies, individuals, and vessels associated with the...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
The role of open talent in raising European competitiveness
The American poet Claudia Rankine once said that the past is a life sentence: a blunt instrument aimed at tomorrow. This is particularly true...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Time for Mandatory Climate Change Disclosures by GCC States?
From wildfires in New Mexico, to droughts in Vietnam, and extreme temperatures and historic flooding in China, it is clear that urgent action must...
Labor and Human Workforce Futures
Platform work: getting the right approach for consumers and workers
With an agreement finally reached by the European institutions on the Platform Worker Rights Directive after two years of fractious discussions, attention turns to...
IT & Telecom
EU adopts safeguards on general purpose artificial intelligence
The European Parliament took an important step in regulating technology, approving on March 13 the EU's proposed Artificial Intelligence Act that aims to ensure...
Business and trade regulations
EU Parliament strives to protect energy market from manipulation
Responding to the energy crisis exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the European Parliament approved on February 29 legislation to tackle energy market manipulation...
Must read